Knife called lust
by Kermitfries
Summary: What happens when Aaron Abbot discovers a secret about two of the four sons of Ipswich? Slash. Reid/Tyler.
1. you keep the truth inside

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the covenant or the characters. Just the twisted thoughts you're about to read.

**Warnings**: THIS CHAPTER HAS SEX. Slash. So if that's not your cup of tea, might as well not read it. If sex -- although not technically intercourse (in this chapter at least) offends, or if it's something you don't think you can handle -- then don't read it. This is rated T. This is your warning.

**A/N**: This sounds absolutely unprofessional...but I dunno what I intend to do with this story. I had a thought and went with it -- and this is the chapter that rose from that. I'm working on a second chapter but it all depends on the reviews I get...or don't get. Tell me if I should keep on with this story.

**Summary**: I'm not sure where I'm going with it -- but what happens when Aaron Abbot discovers a secret about Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms? Curious -- well...read this then.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Pale fingers ghosted over tight muscles. Tyler shivered and felt Reid smile against his skin. Soft lips brushed across the taught muscles of Tyler's abdomen, fingers raking across his ribs. Soft nips brought Reid's mouth up Tyler's stomach and a warm mouth covered Tyler's nipple; a moist tongue flickered across the erect nipple followed promptly by a loud gasp. His hands lifted of their own accord and disappeared into the mop of blond hair above him. Reid licked and nipped his way to Tyler's neck and bit down. Tyler gasped again, gripping onto Reid's hair and drawing him closer.

Tyler writhed beneath Reid as Reid sucked on his neck; the movement making Reid hard as he pressed his body hard against Tyler's. Tyler gasped a third time when Reid ground against him. Reid's warm mouth covered Tyler's and his tongue darted in.

Tyler let Reid dictate the kiss, just as he always has. They both knew how dominating Reid could be but Tyler likes it that way. Reid's nails raked down Tyler's ribs and he gripped the boy's hips in his hands, grinding against him. They weren't naked; not yet, at least. Tyler was still clad in the school uniform, his shirt discarded beside the bed. Reid was wearing blue jeans and shoes, his t-shirt forgotten somewhere by the door where Tyler had dropped it. Reid's body covered Tyler's as he stradled the younger boy's waist. He was hungry; he'd been waiting for this moment since puberty.

Reid Garwin had liked girls for as long as he could remember. But in the back of his mind, there had always been Tyler. There was always moments, in the locker room, when he'd noticed how the water glistened on Tyler's chest. He'd noticed the soft flex of Tyler's muscles when Tyler moved, or the pensieve look that crossed Tyler's face when he played video games. He found himself wanting to reach out and touch that face; to run his thumb across Tyler's lips, but he'd always had to restrain himself. There was no restraint now. Tyler was laying beneath him, wreathing, pressing their bodies closer together. His breath was hot, coming in short gasps, tickling Reid's ear as Reid bent his head to lick his jaw line, to suckle his ear and bite his bottom lip.

Reid's hands pressed gently against Tyler's hips, pulling them closer. His hands were kneading Tyler's hips, flexing and unflexing. In the back of his mind he almost worried that he'd leave bruises but all was lost in the heat of passion. And then something moved. Tyler heard it first, jerking beneath Reid's body. He turned his head to the side, pulling his lips away from Reid's mouth. "Did you hear that?" He whispered. But the sound was gone; all that filled his ears was Reid's heavy pants.

"Hm?" Reid murmured against his chin, as he traced the crook of Tyler's neck with his tongue.

"Reid -" Tyler began, not bothering to suppress the shiver that Reid's tongue caused. Reid's body absorbed his shiver and Tyler felt him smile as Reid kissed his neck. But then Reid heard it. Deep breathing that definitely wasn't coming from Tyler. He sat up quickly and spun around, still stradling Tyler's pelvis.

Leaning against the door, head tilted back, hooded eyes, was Aaron Abbot. Reid's breath caught in his throat and for the first time in his life, Aaron realized that Reid was not just shocked but actually worried. The look that captured Reid's face belied an emotion that Aaron hadn't ever seen on the boy before; it made him smile and then laughter filled the tense room.

"I locked the door," Reid commented. The confusion was evident in his voice; a voice that was uncharacteristically soft; almost childlike. A voice that was still husky with lust and arousal. His usually pale cheeks were still flushed with heat, his hands still rested on Tyler's exposed abdomen, and Aaron could have sworn that he saw a twitch in Garwin's hand, almost as if he were stroking the younger boy.

Aaron's heated gaze was drawn to Tyler, who was struggling to pull himself back and out from beneath Reid. Reid's weight shifted and Tyler drew himself up to a sitting position but Reid was still sitting promptly on his legs. Tyler looked concerned, more so than Reid but he was holding his silence, as he always did. "I have a key," Aaron replied. His tone was short, blunt.

Reid's eyes narrowed and then he glanced down at Tyler who was looking at him with a darkened expression. Reid had lost his key earlier in the week. He'd told Tyler that he had it in his bag but it'd just disappeared and Tyler had rolled his eyes. Reid lost things all the time; he always claimed they disappeared and Tyler would wind up coming across the missing items a few days later in places that Reid hadn't thought to look. But neither of them had expected that Aaron Abbot had stolen it.

"What are you gonna do now?" It was Tyler who spoke. His voice was quiet, smooth; his deep eyes were gazing past Reid and right at Aaron. His gaze was heavy, rooting Aaron to the spot. Reid was still staring at Tyler, though, almost as if he were trying to convey a message without having to verbally speak it.

"Revenge," Aaron answered. His voice was light, the smile stretched across his teeth was taunting. And then he lifted his hand and held up his cell phone. "Don't you think Spenser would find this interesting? Especially the female population."

Reid's icy gaze had returned to Aaron's. He shook his head in disbelief. "You wouldn't," he challenged. But his voice was dark with realization.

Aaron's smile twisted until it was a malicious sneer. "For you, Garwin, I would."

Reid huffed, and rose from the bed, turning to face Aaron. "What do you want," he sighed. He sounded tired, but his eyes were ablaze with anger.

"I already told you," Aaron murmured; his voice sounded irritated but even Reid could hear the pleasure in his tone. "I want revenge. I want to destroy whatever reputation, whatever status -- whatever existence you have. And this here," he pressed play his phone and the video of Reid and Tyler shown brightly on his phone, "is my leverage."

"I'll give you two choices," Reid began slowly, his voice holding a dangerous edge. "Delete that video or I break your phone."

Aaron nodded understandingly, as though he were pondering it. His fingers ghosted over the buttons on his phone and then he held it up again for Reid to see. "Message sent," was flashing on the screen.

"Son of a bitch," Reid swore. And then he lunged for Aaron. His hands fisted in Aaron's shirt; he slammed the brunette hard against the dorm door. He lifted a fist and punched Aaron twice before Aaron sank a fist in Reid's exposed stomach. Reid gave a shout and doubled over. Aaron punched him once in the face and then tackled him. He pinned Reid on the ground, stradling the boy much like he had been previously stradling Tyler. He pinned Reid's arms painfully to the ground and hovered above him. Blood colored Reid's lips red.

Reid didn't know when Tyler had moved but he was suddenly standing beside Aaron. "Aaron, let him up," Tyler commanded, standing close enough to Aaron that he could stop whatever Aaron was planning on doing next, but far enough away so that Aaron couldn't strike out at him. "You've made your point. Now get out."

"Shut up, faggot," Aaron spat, but he wasn't looking at Tyler. His eyes were locked onto Reid's.

"Don't call him that," Reid commanded, writhing under Aaron, trying desperately to buck him off.

"Why not?" Aaron sneered. "That's what he is, isn't it?" His gaze flickered up to meet Tyler's. "I always knew there was something off with you. I always knew you like dick."

Tyler frowned but he didn't say anything. Reid frowned too; he'd always told Tyler to stick up for himself. And sometimes Tyler did. Just not often enough. "Don't talk to him like," Reid snapped. Reid had always stuck for Tyler too, but he hadn't ever been so adament before. He hadn't ever been so blatantly annoyed before.

Aaron whistled, a smile spreading across his face. "Soft spot for the faggot?" His grin deepened. "Who knew Garwin would actually defend his woman," he added, throwing a glance toward Tyler. Aaron tightened his grip of Reid's arms, his grip hard enough to leave bruises.

Reid grimaced and Tyler saw it. "Get off of him." Tyler's voice was quiet yet firm. He was shifting his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. Reid couldn't help noticing the apprehensive look on his face. He'd always teased Tyler about his anxiety, even before any of this happened. It turned him on. Tyler's hand was on Aaron's shoulder and the boy was looking at the son of Ipswich as if he were insane.

"Don't touch me faggot," he snapped. "I don't know how far you and Garwin has gone."

"Oh," Reid moaned. "I love it when you talk dirty." He writhed beneath Aaron for emphasis.

Aaron screwed his face up in disgust. Shooting a glare at Tyler when the younger son laughed. "No, but seriously," Tyler continued as his face suddenly turned serious. "Get off." Reid wanted to laugh. Tyler had the oddest quirks about him. Like how he could go from comical to serious in the blink of an eye. Or how he could seem semi-intimidating while he was just repeating what others would say. Tyler's voice was firm, challenging in a very un-tyler way, while his grip on Aaron's shoulder tightened.

"Or what?" Aaron challenged, cocking an eyebrow at Tyler. "You'll make me?"

Tyler nodded seriously. "Yes." The smile on Aaron's face was defeaning and Tyler's fist tightened on his shoulder furthermore. Tyler jerked back, hard enough to startle Aaron and lift him off of Reid. He heaved Aaron, his free arm gripping Aaron's arm, and shoved him hard against the door. Aaron hit the door and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Damn baby boy," Reid marveled as he climbed to his feet, gently rubbing his forearms. Aaron's grip had left finger like bruises that made him wince. "That. Is. Hot," he added. "Aaron, get out. I'm about to take this man right here, right now." Aaron didn't move, even as Reid's eyes momentarily bore into him. "Fuck that," Reid commented as he roughly pulled Tyler in for a kiss.

Tyler's hands found a grip on Reid's hips, drawing him closer as Reid buried his fists in Tyler's dishelved hair. When Reid pulled back he had a dopey smile on his face. "You taste like chocolate, baby boy."

Tyler wrinkled his nose. "You taste like cheap beer and Funguns. What. The. Fuck."

"I must taste good," Reid purred.

"Disgusting," Aaron spat. Reid hadn't even realized that Aaron had moved, but there he was -- leaning against their door again.

Reid shrugged slightly; he' been called worst. Tyler's hands were still gripping his exposed flesh, gently rubbing random patterns in the flesh on his hip. It was actually kind've soothing. Reid soon realized that Tyler liked touching. He liked running his hands through Reid's hair, almost as much as Reid liked it; and he liked rubbing Reid's back, or stroking his skin. He liked touching Reid in a way that Reid hadn't ever imagined Tyler doing before. Even with Aaron staring at them, Tyler was still gripping Reid's hips close to him. He wasn't as much of a follower as people took him for. But Reid knew that Tyler would go whereever he asked him to; do whatever he wanted him to. And Reid tried his hardest not to abuse this power he had over the boy.

He just really liked how Tyler looked at him -- with conservative want, hunger that no other member of the covenant had ever seen before. He liked making Tyler gasp, or moan, or shiver. He liked making him blush, and he liked how Tyler never resisted his advances; Tyler never shoved him away. He liked how tentative Tyler was in the beginning every time; how he'd touch Reid slowly, as if he expected Reid to shove him away or yell at him. And then he'd become more enthusiastic when Reid didn't resist or reject him. He liked how Tyler always got funnier when he was stoned or drunk; or high on pure lust. It was only after sex that Tyler let down his barriers and said what he wanted to when he wanted to. Tyler could be funny, or honest, or emotional. It just took sex or drugs to tease that out of him; but Reid like drinking with Tyler. And smoking with him. Because he was grateful. He didn't demand it, and he didn't ask for it. And he never took too much of it; it never took much to get him high as it was, but Tyler never expected it out of Reid -- even after seventeen years of coexisting and sharing; he still expected Reid to discard him. Reid liked Tyler. But he feared that it was more than that. More than like.

"Are you planning on staying, Aaron?" Reid asked, tearing his eyes away from Tyler to look at Aaron's look of repulse. His voice was light, casual, even kind. A soft smile was playing around his lips, tilting the ends up, and managing to reach his eyes. There was laughter hidden in those eyes, and suddenly they didn't seem so cold anymore. "I mean -" Reid gestured between him and Tyler, "Do you want in? A three some doesn't sound too bad right about now."

Aaron shook his head, making a gagging noise in the back of his throat. "Your status at this school nonexistent," he swore as he quickly threw open their dorm door and bolted. The echo of the slamming door shattered what little silence had briefly settled between the pair.

Reid was still smiling a goofy smile, but Tyler's soft features were drawn into a worrisome grimace. "What are we gonna do?" Tyler asked, staring into Reid's eyes. Reid's eyes still looked soft, homey like they never had before, and when Reid turned his gaze back to Tyler's he was surprised to find Tyler's usual calm hidden within his gaze.

"I'm gonna tear your clothes off and have my way with you," Reid told him quietly, as he looped his arms around Tyler's neck, resting them on his shoulders and drawing him closer.

"I meant about Aaron," Tyler told him quietly as he wrapped his arms loosely around Reid's waist.

Reid's smile deepened. "I know," he told Tyler gently. "Don't worry about it."

"But you know he's gonna tell everybody," Tyler began. The calm in his voice was ebbing away to fear.

Tyler was cute when he was scared. Reid pulled him closer until they were hugging. "What does that matter?" Reid whispered into his ear. "We've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Tyler pulled back his head so he could see Reid's eyes. Only recently had Tyler realized that Reid's eyes indeed were the windows to his soul; if only to him. His eyes were still laughing. "You sure?" Tyler asked quietly.

"I've got nothing to be ashamed of," Reid repeated quietly, firmly. He shrugged, Tyler's body absorbing this movement. "Sure -- no more one night stands with flavor of the week chicks. But I don't need any of that if I've got you, baby boy. I don't need the reputation I had. Because I've got a better one. I've got you." Heat rose quickly to Tyler's cheeks, coloring them red. He dipped his head and turned away but Reid nudged his jaw with an outstretched arm and Tyler turned his gaze back to Reid. "Are you ashamed?" Reid asked him seriously.

"I've never been ashamed of you," Tyler whispered. His breath tickled Reid's cheek and turned him on. There was this surreal innocence to Tyler that made Reid so hot sometimes. He liked being with someone who blushed everytime he talked dirty to him, or complimented him. Tyler was almost childlike, and it turned Reid on immensely.

Reid dipped his head forward and capture Tyler's lips in another kiss. It was a slow kiss, his tongue darting into Tyler's mouth almost lazily and when he pulled away, he bit down onto Tyler's bottom lip and drew it out. His hands fumbled for Tyler's belt but he batted away Tyler's hands when the younger tried to help.

Reid slowly removed his belt and worked on his button. Before pulling his pants down Reid shoved Tyler back until the younger boy fell back on the bed. Reid knelt in between his legs and Tyler lifted himself up on his elbows, staring down at Reid with soft blue eyes. Reid dipped a warm hand inside Tyler's pants, but the boy still jumped at the skin on skin contact. Reid's hand was soft, gentle as he gripped Tyler's dick. His grip was firm, but gentle, and he ran his thumb the length of Tyler's member. Baby Boy was definitely packing, and hard as a rock. Reid smiled to himself, and flickered his eyes up to glance at Tyler, who was staring back at him with lust filled eyes. He loved how easy it was to turn Tyler on. All it took was affection; just casual groping and wet kisses, really.

He drew out Tyler's dick and quickly dipped his head forward, cover Tyler's length with his own warm mouth. Tyler gasped and Reid flicked a moist tongue across the head, earning another gasp that quickly turned into a soft moan. Tyler was leaned back, his elbows supporting the weight of his upper body, his hands gripping the sheets beneath him so hard that his knuckles had turned white. He watched Reid's mop of blonde hair bop up and down, Reid's cool gaze darting up to meet his own every several seconds. Tyler's eyelids were slowly gaining weight, and he let them slip closed without much of a fight. His head had tilted back, his dry lips parted in a silent moan.

Tyler gasped as he felt the pressure building. Reid picked up his own pace, head bobbing furiously, delightful friction sending sparks down Tyler's member and up his spine. He moaned loudly, as he sat straighter, burying his hands in Reid's dishelved hair. He gripped Reid's hair tightly in his fists, and Reid moaned against his member, ripping a groan from Tyler's dried lips. Reid liked it better when Tyler was forceful. When he pulled his hair in the heat of passion, or bit him hard enough to leave a mark. "Reid -" Tyler gasped, but Reid's name quickly bled into a long moan as the pressure pushed Tyler over the edge and he came. Reid tried to swallow the load, but ribbons of white jizz still leaked from the corners of his mouth.

He almost jumped when he felt gentle hands cup his face and pulled him forward. Tyler leaned back, his hard breathing filling the room, as he pulled Reid onto of him. A tentative tongue darted out and licked away the cum that had seeped from Reid's mouth. Tyler captured Reid's mouth, vaguely tasting himself but too tired to care. "Here," Tyler breathed against Reid's cheek, as his hands lowered to the bulge in Reid's jeans. "You're still hard."

Reid shook his head, blond hair tickling the younger boy's cheek. "You don't have to," he murmured against Tyler's neck.

"You sure?" Tyler asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah," Reid said dismissively. "I wanna spoon," he added. Reid forced himself off of Tyler long enough for the boy to kick off his pants and pull up his boxers, as he himself kicked off his shoes and jeans.

"Take off your socks." Tyler's voice was low, nearly mumbled but Reid glanced down at him nonetheless. "They make me itch." Rolling his eyes Reid sat as he removed his socks. "Thank you." Tyler's voice was drowsy and it made Reid smile. He had caused it. Reid drew himself beneath the covers and spooned Tyler, wrapping his arms around the younger boy and drawing himself closer. He moulded his body to Tyler's, resting his chin in the crook of Tyler's neck, tangling their legs together, resting an arm beneath Tyler's head and wrapped around his abdomen. Tyler's breathing had grown heavier, less deliberate, as he sank into a peaceful sleep. Reid too closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep against _his _baby boy. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell that had always been Tyler Simms to him, and promptly fell asleep.


	2. And it stays unknown

A/N: I appreciate the reviews. Glad to know people enjoy the story. I am going to switch it to an M rating. I wasn't planning on dealing with sex as much as...I suddenly plan to. I just kind've wanted a rated T story for once. But oh well. I do introduce some random chick in this story (that I named after Ayn Rand because she is like god). This isn't a mary sue - don't worry, it's totally tyler and reid. I just thought it'd be more realistic if they had friends outside of the covenant. And I wanted to show people that Reid is not in fact gay. So enjoy and review.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The first thing he felt was warmth. Then his senses sliced through the thick fog of sleep and he realized that he wasn't alone. Reid realized that he was beside Tyler because he smelt Tyler. The smell that was absolutely Tyler. His head was resting promptly on Tyler's bare chest, and he could hear the steady beat of Tyler's heart. Tyler was slightly propped up by two pillows and Reid was lying on his own stomach with an arm thrown around Tyler's waist, and another hanging over the side of the bed. His leg was thrown inbetween Tyler's, pressing their bodies as close together as possible. Tyler was awake. His breathing wasn't as deep as it would have been if he had been unconscious, and he was running a hand through Reid's hair, almost combing it into place.

His palm brushed Reid's forehead, almost cradling his head, before pushing it forward to delve deeping into Reid's hair. Reid sighed against Tyler's chest and the young boy smiled to himself. They both knew how much Reid liked Tyler messing with his hair. It didn't happen often because Tyler had been terrified of sending off a 'gay vibe'. But when Reid was hung over, and puking his guts out, Tyler would come up behind him and kneel beside him and rub his back, and comb his hair back, and whisper nonsensical words of reassurance. "Morning, sunshine." His voice was light, casual and he felt Reid's face shift against his chest as the boy smiled.

A cool gaze lifted to meet his own and Reid remained like that for a moment, just staring up at Tyler. He couldn't understand this high that he currently felt. He didn't even get off last night, how could he feel so...satisfied? Tyler shoved a hand gently through Reid's hair, teasing out what tangles remained. His other hand laid softly on Reid's back, absent mindedly tracing patterns on the exposed skin. Reid dropped his gaze and closed his eyes, dipping his head to place a kiss on Tyler's bare chest before laying his head back down.

Reid Garwin didn't cuddle. He detested the word. He couldn't remember ever cuddling with a female before. It'd always just been sex, and then he'd slip in after Tyler had fallen asleep because he'd realized just how uncomfortable Reid's sexcapades made him feel. The last time he'd cuddled didn't even count as cuddling. He had been twelve at the time. And he remember dinstinctly that it was raining. Worst rain he'd ever seen. And he had a fight with Tyler over a comment he'd made about Tyler's estranged father, even though he knew it had always been a touchy subject for him. And then Tyler left the house, but it was late at night and raining and he followed him, concerned. But he'd lost Tyler when Tyler slipped into the woodland behind his house. Reid Garwin hadn't ever felt fear like that before, gripping his heart so tightly it made im want to cry. He'd shouted for Tyler, his voice trembling with unshed tears. And when he found Tyler, curled in a ball, drenched and shaking violently, he'd knelt beside the boy and laid beside him, wrapping his arms around him, clinging to him with childlike persistence. And they'd stayed like that until they both had stopped cry; until the sky itself had stopped crying.

Reid Garwin didn't cuddle. And Tyler knew this.

But Tyler was different. He had always been different. And Reid liked feeling his body pressed again _his _baby boy's. Tyler's eyes briefly lifted from Reid's head and flickered across the room. He did a double take of the bedside clock and jerked beneath Reid. "Shit, Reid," he cursed and Reid lazily lifted his head to gaze at the boy beneath him. "It's ten," he added, as he wiggled out from beneath his bestfriend. Reid gripped Tyler's hips and halted him before he could rise.

He pressed his head against Tyler's stomach and breathed in deeply. "Let's skip," he proposed, breath tickling the boy's skin. Tyler had heard this proposal numerous times before, but he and Reid both knew that Reid ended up skipping alone, too hung over or still floating on the curtain tails of a spontaneous midnight high to ever even consider going to class. To even care whether or not his bestfriend was sitting beside him, and yet hoping that maybe he would change his mind and come back.

"Reid-"

Reid tugged on Tyler's hips and slid him down so he was laying on the bed beneath Reid once more. "C'mon, baby boy," he pleaded, dipping his head forward to place a soft kiss on Tyler's collar bone. "It's just one day." Reid left a slow trail of kisses up the side of Tyler's neck, stopping momentarily to lick or such on particular parts of his skin. He traced an invisible trail across Tyler's neck with his tongue and bit down on his adam's apple. Laughter rose in his throat when Tyler jumped at the sudden movement and then groaned as he swirled his tongue in a circle upon the sore skin.

"Reid-" Tyler tried again, but his voice didn't sound quite so steady.

A hand left Tyler's waist and slunked lower, brushing against Tyler's croach and receiving a deep moan. "Damn," he murmured against the red skin of the boy's adam's apple as he cupped his arousal, gently stroking it. "You're like that fucking energizer rabbit."

A loud gasp escaped Tyler's mouth and Reid tightened his grip on Tyler's member, gently shifting his grip and sending tiny shocks of friction down Tyler's arousal and receiving another gasp. The thin material of Tyler's boxers, the only material that separated Tyler's most vital organ and Reid's wandering hand, didn't dim the effects of Reid's torture. "Reid." His voice was no more than a quick gasp, almost a moan. His head was tilted back, his eyes tightly closed. His voice no longer sounded relunctant, but encouraging.

Reid's tongue was on his neck again, sending quick shocks straight to his groin. Reid was very talented with that tongue of his. And everything else. Hek new exactly what he was doing, even as his thumb brushed across the tip of Tyler's arousal. Tyler moaned, all thoughts of school disappearing.

And then there was a knock. A loud knock that forced a heavy silence upon the pair. Reid erked away from Tyler, eyeing the door warily. He quickly rose from the bed, hesitantly letting go of Tyler's arousal. He bent and plucked Tyler's blanket from the floor and tossed it over him before trudging toward the door. Reid briefly considered the fact that he was still wearing his boxers. But his boxers were longer than Tylers, almost reaching his knees and considrably thicker. They hung low on his hips and concealed whatever traces of arousal was left on him.

"Do I know you?" He asked after a second of deliberation. His voice was light, laced with irritation.

Before Reid stood a girl. Not just any girl, but a girl that Reid was pretty sure he had never slept with. She wasn't his type at all. She was frumpy. The school issued skirt she wore wasn't hemmed and surpassed her knees. She wore knee high socks and chucks. Her button up school issued skirt was unbuttoned and untucked, the red tie untied and hanging meekly around her neck. Beneath that she wore a black led-zepplin t-shirt as an undershirt. The t-shirt was the only article of clothing that announced her existence of curve. Her hair was short and brown, coming down in a dishelved mess of curls that didn't look intentionally made. She was frumpy. "We've been going to school since the third grade." And her voice wasn't silky. Not like any of the girls he'd ever been with, yet he found himself wondering what she'd sound like moaning. And what she'd taste like. He suddenly had the urge to lick someone that tasted like skittles. Or the rainbow. Maybe they tasted the same, like the commercials claimed. Her voice was light, mirroring his own and yet there was something else there. She sounded amused, maybe even cynical. "I'm in three of your seven classes," she added. Reid knew a lot of girls would get offended over something miniscule like that, but the girl in front of him didn't seem to mind.

"Oh."

"I'm actually looking for Tyler," she continued, staring up at him with big brown eyes that he vaguely figured some would consider homey. The girl opened her mouth to say something and then slowly closed it. Her lips were full, but he was standing close enough to her to see the little cracks in her lips, the little indentions of her two front teeth. A tongue darted out and he licked his suddenly dry lips. "You weren't in class either," the girl observed. "Don't you read your email? Or..."

The door swung further open and Tyler stood beside Reid. He'd pulled on a previously discarded pair of jeans that he was sure wasn't his own and his chest was bare. His hair was a mess and his cheeks were slightly red. "Hey, Ayn," he greeted, with a smile that couldn't ever be anything more than shy. There was a warmness to Tyler's tone that Reid didn't hear often. A warmness that Tyler reserved for him.

"You sick?" The girl, recently named Ayn, asked. But she didn't sound concerned.

Tyler gave her a guilty shrug and glanced sideways at Reid. "No. What's the matter?"

Ayn lifted a phone that she had recently been clutching in her hand and gave it to Tyler. Reid vaguely noticed that the phone wasn't a carbon copy of the newest phones that everybody seemed to have. It was a simple flip phone. Cheap. He licked his lips again. On the phone was a video and Tyler realized, with a sinking feeling, that he didn't have to press play to see just who that video was of. On the screen was Reid and him, half naked, pressed against eachother a whole lot closer than most men ventured. Reid tore his eyes from Ayn and glanced at the phone over his shoulder. "Son of a bitch," he swore.

"I thought that was why you skipped," Ayn explained.

"I overslept," Tyler mumbled, numbly offering Ayn her phone back.

She nodded understandingly, her hair bobbing slightly, her bangs shrouding her eyes in shadow. Reid cleared his throat and licked his lips a third time. Ayn didn't seem to notice. "Everybody got a video from Aaron Abbot. Everybody's seen it. It feels like a scene from gossip girl." Reid and Tyler were silent. Tyler looked down right terrified, like maybe he were prepping to face an execution that he felt he didn't quite deserve. Reid, on the other hand, was fuming. His face had darkened and his hands were curled into fists until his fingernails bit painfully into his palms.

A silence stretched between the trio until Ayn spoke up again. "Why didn't you tell me?" She almost sounded offended. But she didn't. It was a question, not an accusation and Reid found himself swallowing hard.

"You guys are like...friends?" Reid asked, glancing between the pair and giving himself something seemingly productive to do. "Why haven't I ever seen you talking to eachother before?"

"It happens generally in the library," Ayn commented. She didn't elaborate and Reid frowned at her implications. Most chicks didn't comment on his 'personality'. "And, oh yeah, you're too wrapped up in your own affairs to even contemplate those of others." There it was. A slip of emotion. And intelligence. She spoke with ease, her words lacing together fluidly. Her lips moved quickly yet slow enough to seem seductive and he found himself wanting to bite those lips. To taste them.

"Excuse me?" He snapped, shaking his head to clear the image of Ayn from his mind's eye. He managed to even sound offended.

"I've been in your presence since the third grade, Garwin," Ayn snapped. Never before had his name sounded so hot. "I see you everyday. But all you ever see is yourself. And the glamorous life of the sons of Ipswich."

"What the hell?" Reid snapped. "Why are you pissed at me?" Reid had taken a step forward menacingly. He wasn't going to hit her. His parents had managed to instill an ounce of morals within him. But suddenly closer to her he could smell her. It was an odd smell, a mixture of Tide and incense. He could smell a hint of shampoo and body wash, but no perfume or anything. He breathed in deeply again.

"I just told you," Ayn told him darkly, mimicking Reid and taking a step forward. Reid was close enough to not just smell her breath but feel it as it brushed against his bare chest. She smelt like tooth paste. Never before had toothpaste smelt so hot.

"Guys-"

"Don't act like you know me," Reid growled, staring down at Ayn. But she met his heavy gaze unflinchingly. It was making him horny.

"Don't act like you're worth knowing," Ayn countered without missing a beat.

Reid frowned again. His voice had steadily grown louder but her voice had remained steady yet challenging. How could he not have ever noticed this chick before?

"Guys-"

"You're jealous!" he shrieked, smirking down at Ayn.

"Right," Ayn scoffed. "And you're baffled because not every human being in existence lives to worship you."

"Guys, seriously -"

"You're _baffled _because **nobody **wants to worship you. At least I've got my shrines," Reid countered. He realized how harsh that was but he ignored it.

Ayn's frown deepened and then she did something she had never done before. Generally she was a peaceful character. An intellectually motivated person who was oddly mellow and stressless. But before she could stop herself she had slapped _The _Reid Garwin right across his pretty face. Reid stood there for a minute, his cheek stinging and the sound of the hallow slap ringing in his ears; dazed. "Crazy bitch," he shouted a her, lifting a hand to rub his reddening cheek. He failed to noticed the surprised smile that lit up Tyler's face.

"You know what?" Ayn spat, succumbing entirely to her anger. She took a step forward and pushed hard against Reid's exposed chest. Reid could have resisted but he stumbled back anyway. Her finger hurt and left an imprint in his skin, but he wanted her to touch him again as soon as her hand fell away. "You're an ass."

"You're mom's an ass."

"You're mom's an ass," Ayn mimicked.

"Okay, stop it," Tyler said, his voice slightly raised.

"Bitch," Reid cut in, almost immediately after Tyler had spoken.

And Ayn hit him. Hard. Her hand had hit his exposed stomach and he let out an 'oomphf.' But her hand had lingered before falling away. "You're an ass," she repeated.

"This looks like the start of an amazing friendship," Tyler announced, drawing the heated gaze of both Reid and Ayn to himself. "But can we please take a time-out and process the situation at hand?"

"What's there to _process_?" Reid asked nonchalantly.

"The whole school's gunning for you?" Ayn guess. She was still staring at Reid but he decided that it would be best if he just didn't look at her. Or smell her. Might as well just stop breathing all together.

"So what?" Reid asked, eyeing Tyler. He knew it was making his significant other uncomfortable, but he was also sure that ripping Ayn's clothes off and doing her in the hall would make him much more uncomfortable.

"So what?" Ayn echoed. "Your life is gonna be hell, Reid." Her eyes had narrowed but he chose not to see it. "Maybe you can deal with that -- already having been the major fuck up and _thinking _your life is terrible as it is. But Tyler's life is gonna take a nose dive too. You guys are gay. Welcome to the world of insecurities and hate crimes."

Reid tore his eyes from Tyler to glare at Ayn. "I'm not gay," he assured her. "Tyler's gonna get a sex change and things are gonna go back to normal."

"Excuse me?" Tyler added. Reid chose this time to not look at Tyler because the intensity of his gaze was unnerving. But Ayn's eyes were still narrowed, and her lips were slightly turned up into a sort of amused smirk and all he wanted to do was touch those lips. To have her touch him. Anywhere. Reid tore his gaze from Ayn and looked off into the distance and then down at the ground.

"You have ADD or something?" Ayn asked bluntly. His gaze briefly flickered up to meet her prying eyes before returning to the ground.

"Why're you so jumpy?" Tyler added.

"I'm not," Reid snapped, briskly turning away from Tyler and Ayn and retreating to his room. Too bad they followed him as he heard a gentle click as the door closed behind them. "So what does this mean?" Reid asked as he turned to face Tyler.

"Everybody knows," Tyler said, his voice suddenly empty.

"I meant you and me," Reid murmured and then he remembered that Ayn was still in the room. He stared at her pointedly.

"So," she announced, her gaze landing on Tyler. "I have a test to study for. The one that you said you would help me with. In the library. I'm gonna go there...and get a head start. But it's a very important chem test, Tyler. Don't flake out on me."

"I won't," Tyler promised but Ayn was already closing the door behind her and immersing the room once more in silence.

"What does this mean?" Reid repeated, sitting down heavily on his own bed. "This...us."

Tyler shrugged, slowly sinking down onto his own bed. "What do you want it to mean?" It was a neutral question. Tyler wasn't about to admit his own feelings of need and want and stability to just have Reid reject him.

"I don't know," Reid answered honestly. "I'm not gay," he repeated. "And even if I was..." he guestured between himself and Tyler. "I've never had a relationship before. I don't know...I don't think I can commit like that."

Reid, who had been staring hard at the ground beside Tyler's feet, shifted uncomfortably in the silence that followed his confession. "Okay." Tyler's voice was soft and Reid knew he'd hurt the boy without meaning to. But what else was Tyler supposed to say? He couldn't force Reid into a monogamous relationship and he was sure he wouldn't want one until Reid was ready. But he didn't want to lose Reid altogether. So he said, "Okay."

"I'm not like...rejecting you, Ty," Reid assured him. "I like being with you. You know that. I just..."

"I understand," Tyler told him quietly. He didn't. Their lives had just been severely altered. Surely they were bound to be outcasts. Why couldn't Reid just accept it and accept him? Why couldn't Reid focus all of his energy into one person? Why was it so hard for him?

"I'm sorry," Reid added. And Tyler believed him. He hadn't ever seen Reid look so sincere, so confused before.

Reid's chin was resting heavily in the palm of his hand and his elbow dug into his leg, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground. He didn't want to look into Tyler's eyes. "Nothing's changed between us." It was a statement and Tyler almost sounded sad. But it was evident in his voice. Acceptance.

Reid's pale eyes flickered up from the floor and settled squarely on Tyler's. "Everthing has changed," Reid told his quietly. "Tyler -"

"Nothing has changed," Tyler repeated. His gaze was heavy and Reid forced himself to endure it. Tyler rose from his bed and busied himself with digging through the dresser they shared.

"Where're you going?" Reid asked, his eyes following Tyler's every move.

"I have to meet Ayn at the library," Tyler told him gently as he pulled out a t-shirt that Reid wore often. A t-shirt that belonged to Tyler. "Remember?" Tyler wasn't looking at him and it made Reid feel worst. Gently lifting a pair of jeans from a bottom draw Tyler tossed the clothes onto his bed.

Tyler shimmied out of Reid's jeans and quickly slipped into a clean pair of his own. He threw on the shirt quickly and sat briefly to slip on a pair of shoes. Reid was still watching him. Tyler scooped up his bag and crossed the room without glancing at Reid. "C'mon Tyler," Reid murmured as he pulled open the door but Tyler ignored him and disappeared behind the closing door.


	3. Strumming my pain

A/N: I know this chapter is VERY short. But it's just a filler chapter. So please don't hate me. I know I described Ayn as this perfect OFC with this exotic name and this intelligence and yet desireable character. I know it sounded like I was setting up a mary sue. I don't have a purpose for introducing her, but she just sort of came up, and now I'm using her to help set up certain situations in the plot. You have to understand that to be realistic this story has to contain more characters than just the Sons of Ipswich. Reid WILL NOT hook up with her, though. Because she still hates him. And this isn't going to be a story where Reid's handsome charm wins over another chick. Reid is manipulative and careless -- and I think it's about time that somebody pins that on him. And she just happens to turn him on and be a friend of his bestfriend's. So, I repeat -- this isn't a mary sue. Ayn isn't gonna get Reid in the end. I intend to make this one hundred percent Tyler/Reid. Reid isn't in this chapter. Sorry. But as I said -- it's just a filler chapter, and maybe just a page long at best. It does focus a bit on Ayn though -- just as a sort of background for this character. I know some will detest her. But I felt it necessary to flesh out her character. The next chapter will be up in a few days. I REALLY appreciate the reviews.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Ayn was sitting at a table in the back of the library, bent over her chemistry book. Tyler had met her freshman year. Unlike Reid, he had noticed her before, but she'd remained a stranger until they shared an AP math class together. She'd sat beside him after showing up late to class one day. He remembered that she smelt good that day. They were supposed to be working on some formula and she had leant closer to him to look at his paper. And then she'd asked him how he'd gotten an answer to a certain question. Tyler was used to explaining things to people, because they seemed to think he was smart. And he usually sat beside Reid. But Reid often times didn't show interest in the subject at hand. Reid asked Tyler for answers, he didn't ask questions. And after Tyler explained the problem to Ayn she had nodded and told him he was pretty smart. Tyler hadn't ever gotten verbal praises before and he knew he'd blushed. But the next day she sat beside him, and the day after that, and suddenly they had a friendship that didn't just exist in class but also outside of it. She asked him questions and he asked her questions. And she always had answers. Not an overachiever, yet not brain dead; the idea seemed intriguing to him.

"Hey," Ayn greeted without looking up from the book as Tyler took a seat at the table across from her. She was scribbling something down in a notebook. Her hand writing oddly resembled Reid's. She glanced up from the book when he grunted in response. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Tyler answered. He laced his fingers together and rested his hands in his lap.

"Really?" Ayn pressed. "If everything was fine -- don't you think you'd be smiling? Just a litle bit."

"I don't need to smile to express the joy I feel at merely existing," Tyler commented quietly. He sure didn't look happy though.

"You remember two weeks ago?" Ayn began as her pencil fell from her hand and rolled across the table. Tyler shrugged as he plucked the pencil up before it could roll off of the table and placed it in the crease of her textbook. "When that chick asked you out." Slowly Tyler felt himself nod. She'd asked him out for sex, and all he could do was oblige. He hadn't told Ayn that, though. "You smiled like a dope," she added.

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "No, I didn't."

"Dude, your face turned so red you could bake eggs on it," Ayn laughed. "It was cute."

Tyler shook his head, lifting his gaze to meet Ayn's. She was smiling. Not smirking. Everytime Reid pointed out his insecurities he would smirk. Until recently. No, Tyler had noticed that recently Reid actually smiled. "Why am I always 'cute'?" He asked seriously. "Can't I ever be hot?"

Ayn's smile deepened. "Maybe," she answered honestly. "You see -- cute is like a sort of manner. When you do certain things, like blush, that's cute. Hot is more so just the physical package. You either look hot or you don't. And generally in looking hot you become hot. Like it's some sort of state of being. Hot fades and withers and eventually they look ugly and saggy. Hideous creatures, really. An abomination to mankind and they die alone. Hell, they could get lynched by an angry mob of neighbors who got tired of looking at their ugly mugs." Ayn paused for a moment and then cleared her throat. "But cute never fades," she continued. "Because your manners aren't gonna change. You'll always be cute, even when you're old and wrinkly."

"But never hot," Tyler murmured.

"Don't be a girl, Tyler," Ayn scolded. But she was still smiling. "You are hot -- to girls, I guess. When you're naked, I'm sure. We're talking swim suit model, here. You _look _hot, but you _are _cute. Therefore you're considered cute and not hot. I told you, it's a state of being."

"Do all females talk in code?" Tyler snapped, but a hint of red was visible in his cheeks.

"This is about Reid, isn't it?" Ayn asked but she already knew the answer. "So you guys are more like fuck buddies..."

Tyler grunted and shrugged. "Reid's a whore. I knew that before any of this..."

"Tyler," Ayn sighed. "Every female goes after the unattainable with the hopes of taming them."

"I'm not female," Tyler reminded her. "I haven't changed."

"You don't need to," Ayn told him. "But you have changed in the eyes of everyone else. And what they see is who you are. It doesn't matter if their perceptions are right or not. You are who they make you. That's why you're shy. Because they see you as shy. I'm sure you're not shy in Reid's eyes, eh? I'm sure Reid sees you as a completely different person. But he is an individual, a minority. It is the mass that makes us who we are."

"I'll be right back," Tyler grunted as he rose from his seat and retreated.

"Where you going?" Ayn called after him.

"To empty the tank," Tyler called over his shoulder, reciting one of Reid's many charming metaphors. He distantly heard Ayn tell him to have fun with that but he was already pushing open the library door. Ayn had always had this certain voice of reason. She had this set of beliefs and morals that few others did. Tyler could remember she once told him to stop sacrificing his life for others. Live for thyself, she had said. Stop being a pushover, she had meant. Stop letting Reid lead you around on a lease and stop holding your silence when you had something to say. Speak your mind because tomorrow that mind might not exist. Leave your imprints on the world while you still can. She hadn't said all of this, but somehow he knew that was what she had meant.

He didn't understand it though -- because Ayn wasn't outspoken. She didn't make her opinions known. She let others keep their own beliefs and only offered words of wisdom when Tyler inquired about something. She always seemed unbiased, removed from the situation. A third party viewer, and she offered advise as only a third party could. He shook his head as he pushed open the bathroom door.

He didn't have to piss, so he stood before the mirror and washed his hands. Ayn had said he _looked _hot but he _was _cute. She was female. So maybe other females saw what she saw yet he failed to see. What Reid apparently failed to see too.

Tyler didn't hear the door creak open. He didn't hear anything until suddenly there was heavy breathing on the back of his neck. He whirled around, hands still dripping wet, the running faucet drowning out the fragmented silence.


	4. I got you, babe

A/N: I wasn't gonna post this for another few days, but since I got like what? Eight reviews over night -- I've decided to post it early. There is a random OMC in this chapter because I believe that both Chase and Aaron has been outplayed as villains.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Standing behind Tyler was Derek Bender. Football had forced muscle onto his naturally tall body. Only three months separated the two but Derek towered over Tyler and outweighed him by 150 pounds. He was uncomfortably close and the sink dug into Tyler's back reminding him that he couldn't retreat any further. "Move." Even Tyler was surprised by how steady his voice was. He took a step forward, as to move past Derek. A fist shoved him back hard and Tyler grimaced as the sink dug painfully into his back.

"Make me." Derek's voice was hard, challenging; distorted by malice. He'd always had an eye out for Tyler, ever since Tyler had unintentionally humiliated him freshman year. Tyler honestly hadn't meant to make him sound stupid, but with someone like Derek it hadn't been that hard. Derek always tried to humiliate Tyler or hurt him, but it wasn't ever enough. Reid was there most of the time and managed to defuse the problem. But Derek wasn't Aaron and even Tyler knew that Reid couldn't fight him every time and walk away from it. Tyler knew exactly what sort of pain Derek could deal, and he hated seeing Reid absorb that pain just so Tyler could be spared.

He ventured forward, throwing his weight against Derek's shoulder, intentionally elbowing him in the ribs. Derek's breath caught unexpectantly in this throat and Tyler slipped past him. Before he could reach the door a thick fist had snaked around his wrist and immediately haulted him. "You think you're so clever," Derek hissed. Tyler tried to wrench his arm free but Derek violently jerked him closer. So close Tyler could smell his cologne and feel his hot breath across his cheek. "I saw that video of you and Garwin," he sneered, pulling Tyler closer until their bodies were touching. "I knew there was something between you two fags. The way he's always hovering over you like a fucking shadow."

"Let go," Tyler ordered, deciding to cleverly ignore Derek's preceeding comments. His arm was starting to go numb and the cologne was making him nauseous.

Derek moved so suddenly that Tyler verbally gasped. He spun him around and slammed him chest first into a wall. Tyler's arms instinctively shot out to soften the impact. Derek pressed himself against Tyler's back, forcing Tyler's arms to bend at a 90 degree angle. "This how you like it?" Derek hissed into his ear, forcing a shudder from the smaller boy. Derek ground hard into Tyler's back and the boy before him cringed. "Like that, faggot?" A hand snaked down Tyler's abdomen and gripped his groin painfully hard.

Tyler gasped in shock as his eyes shot wide open. His arms collapsed and the weight of Derek's body pressed his chest hard against the wall. "What are you doing?" Tyler demanded. His voice revealed his terror and confusion. Wasn't this the boy that had called him gay and feminine since forever?

A smile touched Derek's lips and his heavy breathing filled Tyler's ears. He was definitely too close for comfort. "I bet you want me to touch, don't you, faggot? Like that pussy Garwin?" Tyler didn't answer. What was he supposed to say? "Huh?" Derek's grip on Tyler's groin tightened and Tyler gasped again. He shook his head but words escaped him. "Really?" Derek's voice was taunting, and Tyler became suddenly aware that he was shaking. He'd been scared before, but he was physically shaking, trembling beneath the boy's touch.

Derek's hand disappeared from Tyler's groin and fumbled with the button of Tyler's pants. The younger boy's eyes widened and he tried to pull away but Derek pinned him to the wall so completely that it hurt. "Don't," Tyler gasped. "Don't fucking --" But his words caught in his throat as a warm hand gripped his dick. Derek's grip shifted, pulling on his dick agonizingly slow. Tyler's head lolled forward and hit the wall softly, fighting to suppress a moan. He refused to succumb to Derek's antics. This guy made his life hell -- and he'd die before he showed him pleasure.

Tyler's hands were flat against the wall, knuckles white, unable to shove his chest off the wall. Derek pressed harder against Tyler, his arousal suddenly harder. Tyler knew he was getting hard beneath Derek's hand. "Do it," Derek's harsh voice whispered in Tyler's ear.

"Who's the faggot now?" Tyler hissed. Enticing Derek would prolong his molestation and possible rape, and Tyler was positive that he could handle physical abuse. Sexual abuse, however, was a completely different story that he didn't wish to read. Derek's grip tightened around Tyler's dick and the boy gasped out in pain. But then Derek's hand disappeared altogether and quickly buried itself in his hair. It tightened unbareably tight and jerked Tyler's head back hard. His mouth opened in a silent gasp and Derek immediately covered that mouth with his own. He shoved his tongue in and ruthlessly mapped out the cavarns of Tyler's mouth.

Tyler was stunned for a moment but then he clamped down immediately and tasted blood. Derek pulled back quickly, but blood colored his lips red. His face twisted into something ugly caused by anger and then he smashed Tyler's head into the wall. Tyler cried out as the tile beneath his head cracked, suddenly red. Derek spun him around and held him hard against the wall, his hands closing tightly around his neck.

Tyler could hear, far off in the distant, pounding on the door and frantic shouting. His hands shoved weakly against Derek as the older boy tried desperately to crush his esophagus. Suddenly Derek disappeared and Tyler slid to the floor, gasping hungrily for the air in which he had recently been deprived of. A figure was looming over him, asking him questions that his mind couldn't grasp. Fingers were touching him, pulling him into a sitting position, and roaming over the deep gash that was on his head.

The figure disappeared only to be replaced by another. "Ayn?" He asked as her small hands gripped his arms tightly and roughly pulled him to his feet. He let her pull him.

And that's when the scene fell into place. Reid was across the room, hovering over Derek. There was blood on the ground beneath Derek, but Tyler knew he, himself, hadn't drawn any blood from the older boy. "Jesus, Tyler." Ayn's voice broke through the thick fog of his mind and he jerked alert. "That cut looks really bad."

"I'm fine," Tyler mumbled, gingerly brushing the cut on his head with trembling fingers. He grimaced. Blood had flowed freely down the side of his face and stained the side of his neck red. He stumbled away from Ayn and stopped beside Reid who was still hovering over Derek menacingly. Closer now, Tyler could see exactly what damage Reid had imposed. Derek's nose was bleeding, but his face was already beginning to bruise in several place. Tyler was sure that his face wasn't all that was bruised. "Reid, the provost --"

"The provost what?" Tyler and Ayn jumped at the intruding voice but Reid was still glaring down at the nearly unconscious Derek.

"Is going to be pissed," Ayn concluded.

"I'm sure you've taken a wrong turn, Miss Harvelle," Provost Higgins replied dryly. "Your washroom is down the hall. On the second floor."

"I knew something was off," Ayn confided. "I knew my usual restroom wasn't so...blue. In fact, I think the actual color was pink." She glanced around the bathroom momentarily. "I'm also pretty sure females don't need quite so many...sinks."

"Go now," Higgins ordered and Ayn quickly left his heated gaze. "Mr. Simms, Garwin. What is going on here?"

"He was attacked," Reid answered calmly, finally stepping away from Derek and gesturing angrily at Tyler. "I practically saved his life," he continued, his voice returning to normal, but it was too late. Tyler had heard the concern. "I don't think that constitutes for detention."

"Constitues," Higgins repeated slowly. "That's an awfully big word. And you used it correctly in a sentence. Have you been falling victim to this intituion and it's naughty ways?"

"Very funny," Reid replied dryly.

"Take Mr. Simms to the nurse, and tell her we need an ambulence for the boy you nearly killed," Higgins ordered. "I expect the both of you in my office in ten minutes."

"Fine," Reid grunted, and took Tyler's arm firmly in his hand. He led the boy hastily from the bathroom and crossed the hall in silence.

Tyler pulled his arm from Reid's grasp and rubbed it. He felt dazed. "That was awfully coincidental. You had to go to bathroom at a very convenient time."

"I thought so," Reid responded stiffly.

"I left you in the dorm," Tyler said softly. "It's kind've odd that you went to a completely different building to use the facilities."

"Ayn called me," Reid murmured. His voice had softened considerably and Tyler couldn't see why. "How that chick got my number is beyond me." Tyler didn't say anything but Reid continued without him. "She said you'd been in the bathroom for ten minutes. And when she went looking for you she heard somebody yell out. In pain. She said it sounded awfully high pitched so I told her it was probably you." Tyler didn't smile at the joke. "She couldn't get the door open. There was a door jam in place."

"So you Used," Tyler concluded quietly.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Reid asked. His voice wasn't as defensive as it would have been if Caleb had questioned his actions. He just sounded tired. He was tired of everyone treating this power like a curse.

"I appreciate you defending my honor," Tyler told him quietly, deciding it would be best to change the subject. Reid always got touchy when people questioned his Using.

"Don't sound like such a girl," Reid joked.

"I wish people would stop reminding me of my gender, as if I'd somehow forgotten," Tyler mumbled as they reached the door to the nurse's office. Reid held it open for him and Tyler shook his head as he passed the older boy. "Gee, thanks."

"What I do for you, sweetheart," Reid told him cheerfully as he followed the boy into the office. The nurse fretted over Tyler for what seemed like hours before Reid told her that she had to wrap things up or Higgins was bound to extend their punishment. He had seemed unusually irritated but when they reached Higgin's office he was back to smirking. Tyler wondered about his bipolar(ism?) sometimes.


	5. Perhaps it hurts enough

A/N: Short chapter. I'm setting up the next chapter. Which will have sex. I think this chapter reveals a lot about Reid Garwin. Who I heart. Enjoy. And Review if you really want to get to the sex.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_I envied you the certainity that you would amount to nothing. I was jealous of the terrors I constructed for you but could not tremble before myself. I was never drunk enough, never poor enough, never rich enough. All this hurts, perhaps it hurts enough. It makes me want to cry out for comfort._

_ - Leonard Cohen_

"This. Sucks. Ass," Reid announced as he shoved another t-shirt into an overnight bag. The t-shirt didn't belong to Reid and Tyler opened his mouth to object but Reid didn't give him pause. "Suspension," he huffed, violently zipping the bag and tossing it to the ground. "And sending me home? What the hell is he thinking?" He demanded as he collapsed heavily onto his bed. Tyler sat cross legged on his own bed, a physics text book in his lap and a notebook at his side. He had been twiddling (is that even a word...?) a pencil between his fingers absent mindedly the entire time but Reid didn't seem to notice. Or mind. Reid usually took his punishments in stride, but sending him home for an entire week was quite possibly the worst thing Provost Higgins could have done. "Goddamnit."

The word wasn't loud, but it was harsh. Raw. And it shook Tyler out of his own thoughts. He studied the blonde across the room quietly. Because he had that ability. Reid, it seemed, always had to make comments whenever he studied Tyler. Reid's hair was touseled and he wanted to run his hands through it. He wanted to pull it and grip it hard in his hands and twist it until the blonde cried out in pain. Or pleasure. The blonde was paler than usual and his cheeks were aflame. He looked angry yet defeat shone bright in his icy glare. He was staring hard at the ceiling above him, suddenly undisturbed with Tyler's silence. "It won't be that bad," Tyler finally said quietly, his eyes still studying Reid's figure. Reid was wearing jeans and a thin long-sleeve shirt. His arms were limp at his side, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark etches of tattoos peeking out from beneath the sleeves. Would it be possible for Tyler to look at Reid and not get hard? Ever again? "You haven't spoken to your mother in like six months," Tyler forced out. "Maybe she's changed," he added.

"You say that every year," Reid sighed. His godlike features knitted together and scrunched up in annoyance. "She hasn't changed since I was like what - thirteen? If that's her change then I'd rather she didn't..."

"It doesn't mean she can't change," Tyler murmured softly. It was an old arguement and Reid already knew Tyler's opinion. Forever the optimist. When had Tyler Simms not been optimisitc? When did Reid start finding that minor attribute adorable?

"Yeah," he agreed, his tone mirroring the younger boy's. "She just won't," he bit out, his voice turning hard. "Going home is gonna be hell, Tyler."

"I'm sorry," Tyler mumbled. He knew that this was the reason Reid had been cutting back on fighting. Even Reid knew he was walking a very fine, nearly invisible and forever changing, line between detention and suspension, and he intended to remain on the bright side of that line. When he fought, he rarely drew blood. Derek was an exception. It was a completely different situation and Reid had lost control. He'd almost begged the Provost to give him something else, anything else. And Tyler had pleaded on his behalf all the same but Higgins remained unmoved. Maybe Higgins thought he was so desperate because having something like this on his permanent record would keep him out of most Ivy league colleges. Like he had a chance in the first place. Reid didn't give a shit about college. He just never wanted to go home.

"Whatever," he grunted. "It's not like it could've been avoided." Even Reid knew that either way, he wouldn't have been able to restrain himself with Derek. Even if he knew that this would be the punishment. To think that someone could touch Tyler in such a vile way made is blood boil. It made him see red and lash out blindly in a surge of fury and inescapable rage. How could someone so be foolish as to believe they'd be able to harm a hair on Tyler's head and still live?

"What'd your mom do?" Tyler asked tentatively, carefully studying Reid's face. "When Provost called her."

Reid's face darkened but he continued to stare at the ceiling. "She told him to call my father. Said I'd been her problem long enough."

"Huh." Reid's father had abandoned him back in elementry school and he refused to have anything to do with the man. His father had abandoned him for another woman half his mother's age, and he currently had himself a family that seemed picture perfect. Two kids in highschool on the honoroll, an intelligent ten year old that could do no wrong, a big house, picket white fence, obedient dogs that didn't shit all over the carpet. He had all but forgotten that he had left his eldest son alone with a woman he knew was suicidal. A danger to herself and her son. Maybe it wouldn't be so infuriating if he didn't live within town -- if his kids didn't attend Spenser.

His mother was a woman who was controlling and manipulative. Reid spent his junior highschool years trying to coax her to eat, to take the antidepressants the doctors had prescribed. He tried to convince her that angels didn't really talk to her, that he wasn't really a bad apple; that maybe she could start loving him again, just for a little bit.

By highschool the covenant had already deemed him a rebel, merely because he'd dabbled in his mother's alcohol cabinet when the stress of having her around became too high and too frequent. With alcohol came pot, and after pot came the power -- the greatest high in the world, and he quickly spiraled down into a pit that took three years to climb out of, a pit that still called temptatiously to him everyday. A pit in which his mother's screams and threats were silent. It took him years to muster up the courage to let them in again, to endure the raging storm that had become his mother. He skipped school and flaked out on friends. He remained on the couch, always floating on some sort of high. Reid didn't take care of his mother, much like she had failed to take care of him.

He'd tried all that bullshit in junior high and freshman year of high school. He tried feeing her and cleaning the house and caring after her but then she turned violent and started listening to the angels a lot more severely. Caleb, for all purposes intended, appeared to be the bigger man. An adult with a conscious and substantial responsibilities. Reid wasn't Caleb and Caleb refused to acknowledge the inner turmoil within him. He refused to acknowledge the inner turmoil within any of them, including himself. The covenant was how it was supposed to be. Perfect. "Did he?" Tyler pressed.

"Yeah," Reid answered stiffly.

"Reid." Tyler's voice was soft, almost musical. Within those ridges of that musical voice were layers of annoyance ebbing away at the soft sound. Reid's icy gaze flickered to him and then flickered away.

"He made some deal with Higgins, to keep this off my record." Reid's voice was emotionless but his gaze was lethal, staring hard at the ceiling once more. "Evidently he thinks I still got a chance at Harvard or some bullshit."

"What's the deal?" Tyler pressed patiently.

"Indentured servitude," Reid answered. Higgins seemed pleased with that prospect. He was beaming when he told Reid that bit of good news. But Reid didn't explain further and Tyler waited a minute before pressing him with a grunt of annoyance. "He wants me to come work for him at his house for a month. Wants me to cook for his family and act all...civilized, I guess. He claimed he wants to get reacquainted with his first son."

"What a load of crap."

"Not like I have a choice," Reid sighed. "Higgins saids that if I don't do it, then the suspension will be expanded...until like forever."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Tyler asked. His voice was hesitant again and Reid seemed to notice. His heavy gaze landed on Tyler and the boy shifted uncomfortably. He hated how Reid could stare straight at someone, and study their entire being without feeling ashamed. He could just stare forever. "When you go to your mom's."

"She always liked you," Reid said brightly. "Said the angels saw your purity." Tyler nodded slowly. At one time Reid had managed to feel jealousy, but he was past all of that now. He just didn't care anymore. "She'd always call me dirty," he added, as if the thought just occurred to him. "Said the angels could see what I always did. And she always knew. Said she could smell it on me. Sex. And then she'd hit me."

"And you'd manage to go a total of one whole day without looking at a chick," Tyler added. Yeah, he remembered the days. When Reid was fifteen and new to it all. Reid's infatuation with females occurred immediately after he'd lost his virginity at the ripe age of fourteen. And then he fell hard for a fellow classmate who decided that she didn't value Reid in the same way he valued her. He was fifteen and in love, and she had him wrapped around her finger. She broke up with him three times, but always came back. And he was always too eager to let her back in. But after that last breakup, he changed. _She _had used _him_. He decided that maybe trusting females wasn't the right route to take -- especially not with his mother and his supposed love being of that particular gender. But what about males? How many of those could he trust? He figured that trust was vastly overrated and deeply exaggerated. It wasn't necessary. So why'd he trust Tyler? He would leap any distance for this boy. This man. "Reid?" Tyler's voice had returned to hesitancy (that's a word, right?).

"Hm?" Reid murmured, his eyes drifting close. There was movement beside the bed and Reid's eyes shot open as Tyler's warm mouth covered his own.


	6. Lets talk about Sex

A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter...but there you have it...

Warning: Sex. That is this chapter. This story is for mature audiences, and this chapter contains sex. So if that's not your cup of tea, then go ahead and just skip it. The word Tysexual was not my idea, it was stated in a review, and I think it's absolutely adorable. So I used it, but I didn't invent it.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Reid?"

"Hm?" Reid murmured, his eyes drifting close. There was movement beside the bed and his eyes shot open as Tyler's warm mouth covered his own. Tyler's kisses had always been hesitant, even relunctant, but lined with unashamed want and need. The hesitancy disappeared as he parted Reid's lips. His tongue darted into the older boy's mouth as Reid eagerly returned the kiss. Tyler managed to dictate the kiss, his body unconsciously moving closer to the boy on the bed. Reid's arms snaked around Tyler's neck and pulled him closer, visibly eagier.

Tyler pulled back and broke the kiss. He was stradling Reid but he couldn't remember making a conscious decision to do so. A slow smile distorted Tyler's features as he sat ontop of Reid, staring down at the older boy. Reid wanted him. They both knew it. But it felt nice to see just how badly he wanted him. Reid was supposed to be cool with his sexual encounters. He was supposed to make the chick feel like he was doing her a great service by agreeing to have sex. Sure, he'd always wanted it. It was sex after all. But now he suddenly felt like he was ready to beg for it. It was such a foreign feeling that it was rapidly overwhelming him.

Tyler's fingers fumbled with the buttons of Reid's shirt. The soft pressure of Tyler's fingers on his shirt as driving him insane. Tyler quickly pulled open Reid's shirt, and smiled down at the stretch of pale skin beneath him. Tyler bit down and nipped at the skin above Reid's collar bone. The nip sent shockwaves down Reid's spine and he groaned inwardly as Tyler's mouth moved lower. Tyler's mouth covered a nipple and he swirled his tongue around it. Reid's moan was audible and Tyler smiled against his skin. He vaguely wondered how often Reid moaned. Sure, girls could get him off all he wanted them to. But did they make him moan and gasp? Tyler bit down on his nipple, flicking his tongue against it while holding it between his teeth. Reid's moan was louder. He lifted his hands and buried them in Tyler's hair. With each flick of his tongue Reid tightened his grip on the boy's hair.

Tyler lowered a hand until it brushed acrossed Reid's groin. Reid bit back a third moan and involuntarily arched into the warmth that was Tyler's hand. He reveled silent at the effect that one simple movement was having on him. Reid's nipple was sore when Tyler released it but the sudden pain turned him on. Tyler's soft lips pressed against his collar bone and then the crook of his neck as his hand pressed harder against the warmth between his legs. Tyler's lips trailed Reid's jawline and his tongue brushed against the shell of Reid's ear.

The blonde's hot breath brushed against Tyler's ear as the younger boy kissed the blonde anywhere -- except the mouth. He knew it was driving the older boy insane and he could feel him wiggling beneath him, arching into Tyler's touch, biting back grunts and groans as Tyler's fingers danced across the bulge in his pants.

"You're killing me, baby boy." His voice was husky, distorted with lust. Tyler lifted his head, amusement shining bright in his pale blue eyes. Reid's eyes were darker, not quite black but dark enough to almost seem a different color. Not blue. Yet still beautiful. The eyes alone was enough to catch Tyler's breath in his throat. He knew immediately that he was doing something to Reid that no other female had managed to do. He was making him yearn for. A thing Reid wasn't used to. Reid could have it. Whenever he wanted it. But Tyler intended to make him feel something more. He wanted him to know that this little sexual affair at this exact moment was currently out of Reid's hands. It was, in fact, in Tyler's hands. Tyler dictated whether or not there was any having going on.

"It's an odd little reversal of roles," Tyler murmured, pressing his lips against the skin beneath Reid's ear. He was suprised by how calm his voice sounded. He wanted Reid just as much as the blonde wanted him, yet somehow he felt completely in control. He could feel the blonde shift beneath him, bucking into his hand, which had recently stilled upon the bulge. Reid wasn't used to waiting and it amused the younger boy.

Reid made a frustrated growl low in his throat that forced Tyler's lips into a smile against the skin of his neck. Reid's hands were still fisted in his hair, his knuckles white, his breath heavy even though his breathing wasn't directly impaired. His pale cheeks were flushed and his eyes had turned darker than before. Tyler leaned forward, pressing his lips hard against Reid's. Reid's head bobbed off the bed as he pressed hard against Tyler, their tongues entangling together.

Reid's hands were pulling at Tyler's hair, yet holding his head in place at the same time as Tyler's hand fumbled with Reid's belt. Reid gasped into Tyler's mouth when Tyler's hand brushed against his groin, skin to skin. Tyler's skin felt hot against his, soft as he stroked him, yet firm enough to elicit a throaty moan from the blonde. Tyler let a gasp pass his lips when Reid's hand twisted his hair painfully.

"Don't tease me, baby boy," Reid growled as the younger boy ground against him. "If you're starting this, you better finish it." Reid's hands had slipped from Tyler's hand and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Reid roughly shoved the shirt back and Tyler paused to pull his own shirt off. Before the shirt hit the ground Reid was already fumbling with Tyler's belt. Clothes were torn from their bodies in a matter of seconds, each boy gasping as skin brushed against skin.

Reid quickly rolled them over so he was on top. Tyler knew Reid wouldn't be able to handle the submissive role for long. And then Reid paused, staring down hard into Tyler's eyes. "You sure, baby boy?" He murmured softly.

Tyler heard himself loud. "Stop stalling, Garwin," he snapped after his laughter had disappeared. That was consent enough for Reid, he lifted a finger and pressed it against the boy's lips. Tyler sucked on the finger in an oddly seductive manner, as Reid dipped his head to scrape his teeth across his collar bone. He loved the way Tyler's entire body shuddered when he paid even the least amount of attention to the collar bone. And the hips. He loved the feel of Tyler's body writhing beneath his own and the soft noises Tyler made with his mouth. Without removing his mouth from Tyler's collar bone, Reid gently slipped his wet finger into Tyler. Tyler gasped, but quickly relaxed around his finger. Reid gently moved his finger, slowly adding a second and then a third. His lips never left Tyler's skin, not as he removed his fingers, or as he guided himself into the younger boy. He smirked against Tyler's collarbone when he heard the younger boy gasp loudly and waited for the boy to adjust. His thrusts were slow at first, as his tongue traveled from Tyler's neck to his ear. He bit down, just to feel Tyler's sharp intake of breath against his ear.

The boy cried out when Reid hit his prostrate, his hands gripping the blond's arms so hard his knuckles had turned white. Reid smirked again, dipping his head to capture the brunette's lips into a bruising kiss that left them both breathless. But then he angled himself to hit that certain spot again, and again, smiling widely with each cry of pleasure from the brunette. He lowered a hand, to gently stroke Tyler. His head had fallen into the crook of Tyler's neck, his breath turning wet against the boy's skin, his lips curving into small kisses.

Tyler reached the end first, his body growing rigid, tightening around Reid. Tyler gave the soft cry of pleasure as he spilt himself across both his and Reid's chest. And then Reid let out a whoose of air into Tyler's neck as he released himself into the brunette. They didn't move, both breathing heavy, dazed with ecstasy. And then Reid shifted, gently removing Tyler's hands from his bruised arms, and sliding off of the boy to collapse beside him.

"That was awesome," Reid murmured, as he nustled closer to Tyler, leaning against the boy to place delicate kisses along his neck. Tyler nodded mutely in agreement, his eyes slipping closed as the blonde's tongue traced the courses of his neck. And then there was a knock at the door and both boys froze. "Every fucking time," Reid swore in a harsh hiss, his breath tickling the skin of Tyler's neck. They remained silent for a moment, until the knock sounded again.

"I know you're in there, I heard voices," the deep voice called through the door.

"Maybe that's something you should check out on your own time," Reid called back, his voice husky and deep with unforgotten lust.

"Just open the damn door, we need to talk." The voice was suddenly familiar and both boys froze again.

"Caleb?" Tyler asked, his voice sounding dazed and far away.

"Yeah," Caleb called. "Open the door."

"Go away," Reid snapped. He was still leaning against the younger boy, his lips precarious close to the boy's skin.

"Reid."

"No. I saw the way you fucking looked at me earlier," Reid countered, his voice suddenly harsh. He rose from the bed and busied himself with pulling on his clothes, pausing to toss Tyler a few articles of clothing. Tyler silently began dressing as well. "You think I'm blind?" Reid demanded as he yanked open the door.

Caleb was standing before him, looking uncertain for the first time in his life, but Reid could see the anger hidden in that gaze. "I came to...apologize...for that."

"Whatever," Reid grunted. His eyes were dark, Caleb assumed it was with anger. But Reid couldn't shake his former lust. He cleared his throat and retreated back into the room. Tyler had thrown their blanket back onto their beds and was currently sitting on the edge of Reid's bed, looking slightly uncomfortable. His cheeks were flushed, his hair tangled and dishelved.

Caleb glanced back at Reid. The blonde's hair was also messy, and picking up on this, Reid quickly combed through his hair, looking away from Caleb's questioning glance. There was a thin layer of sweat covering his pale face, and his cheeks were flushed. "Did I interrupt something?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah. Just our lives," Reid spat back darkly. "We have one of those, y'know? You aren't the only one..."

"Did I interrupt something?" Caleb asked Tyler. The younger boy stared up at Caleb but then his eyes darted away. That was all Caleb needed. And then the smell hit him and he made a face that didn't escape Reid's notice. "Oh god."

Reid shrugged. Tyler hadn't ever complained about returning to the dorms to find sex still heavy in the air, but perhaps the image in Caleb's mind was a bit disconcerting. "Do you have a problem, Caleb?" He asked, eyeing Caleb closely. "With us," he added, gesturing between Tyler and him.

Caleb was quiet for a moment, but then shook his head. "Of course not," he murmured.

"Then why've you been avoiding us," Tyler asked, rising to his feet. A darkened hicky peeked out of his collar but Caleb looked away.

"I wasn't 'avoiding' you, I was just busy," Caleb told him quietly.

"Yeah, right," Reid laughed. "You're fucking homophobic." He crossed his arms across his chest and stared Caleb down. His lips were red from kissing, the color bright against the white of his face.

"Provided that you're a homo," Tyler chided, a small smile lighting up his face.

"Which I'm not," Reid assured him.

"Right. You're taking denial to the extreme." Tyler's face was broken out into a smile, even as his voice darkened.

"You're not gay?" Caleb broke in and Reid shook his head, a distorted grin splitting his face.

"It's like you don't even know me, Caleb," he murmured. "Do I -- Reid Garwin -- look gay."

"Looks can be deceiving," Tyler added.

"Whatever. I like chicks. I like boobs. I like fucking chicks. I _like _chicks," Reid assured them.

Caleb glanced at Tyler. "I'm pretty sure Tyler doesn't constitute as a 'chick'," he added.

"Tyler's special," Reid told him quickly.

"He's not a chick," Tyler assured Reid.

Reid glared at Tyler. "Tyler's special," he repeated, his eyes still boring in Tyler's.

"You fucked a dude, Reid. You're gay." Caleb's voice almost sounded amused and Reid's glare darkened.

"Whatever. I've never been...attracted to dudes. So what does it matter?" He demanded dismissively.

"Tyler's a dude, Reid," Caleb told him, his voice suddenly annoyed.

"I'm pretty sure I've noticed," Reid snapped. "But -- He's. Special."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter," Tyler interrupted. "You came to apologize, not debate Reid's homosexuality."

"Because it doesn't fucking exist," Reid cut in.

"Whatever you say," Tyler told him quietly. "Is that all you're here for, Caleb?"

Caleb was quiet for a moment. "You're not going to Nicky's, right?" He asked, eyeing Reid.

Reid cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked.

Caleb shrugged. "Because I am. And I think it's a little early for you guys to be...out in public."

Reid laughed but Tyler could hear the tension, he could see how tense Reid's back had grown. "Are you telling us to hide out in our dorm until this blows over?" Tyler asked, eyeing Caleb closely.

"Yeah. That's what I'm telling you," Caleb assured him.

"Well I can't," Reid cut in, gesturing to his forgotten overnight bag by his bed. "I've been suspended. They're sending me home for the week. And if you think I'm just gonna hang around my mother's house -- you must be stupider than you look. And that, my friend, is saying a lot."

He swung his arm around Caleb's shoulders, but Caleb shrugged it off. "I don't want you getting into anymore fights with Aaron, Reid."

"Why not?" Reid asked. In truth, Caleb hadn't ever wanted him to get into so many fights with Aaron, but he hadn't ever been so adament about it.

"Because now you've got a lot more enemies," Caleb murmured. "You haven't heard how they're talking about you -- at school. I don't think it's entirely safe..."

Reid laughed again, shrugging off Caleb's concern. "People manage to like Tyler everyday, Caleb. It really isn't that dangerous." He could feel Tyler's heated gaze on him but the younger boy remained silent and the oldest of the three didn't laugh at the joke. "I think I've got enough backup to manage."

"This power does not make us invincible, Reid," Caleb hissed. "I just want you to lie low, be careful."

"We will," Tyler assured him. "We won't go to Nicky's tonight. Reid won't cause any unnecessary disturbances. He won't provoke anybody. He won't extract revenge on Aaron, even if the bastard has it coming. He also won't get laid ever again -- considering he's not gay yet I highly doubt the vast majority of the female population will ever touch him again..."

Reid glared at Tyler and Caleb nodded. "Good. I trust the two of you to be mature adults about this. Take it in stride."

Tyler nodded but Reid was still glaring at him. "We'll be careful, Caleb."

"Good," Caleb repeated, slowly making his way back to the door. "I'm trusting the two of you."

"Whatever, you homophobe," Reid murmured, as he closed the door behind Caleb. And then he turned back to Tyler, his face still drawn into a heated glare. "I'm not gay," he repeated.

"Just Tysexual?" Tyler was amused and it was really beginning to annoy Reid. "Can't ignore my superior beauty? Beauty that somehow manages to transcend gender and appeal to all humans."

"When did you become so fucking arrogant?" Reid mumbled as he trudged across the room back to his bed. He tried to ignore how Tyler was grinning down at him, but that task became more difficult when the younger boy straddled him. He couldn't ignore the heat of Tyler's legs as they pressed against his own legs. He couldn't ignore the small shocks that Tyler's fingers gave him when they caressed him. (I don't mean the sexual him...)

"Why?" Tyler asked as he leaned into a kiss. This kiss was different somehow. Reid let Tyler dictate it, but it was slower, somehow deeper. And Tyler's tongue felt better. "Does that turn you on?" He murmured against Reid's lips.

"You turn me on," Reid whispered back in a husky tone, his hands returning to Tyler's hair. He pulled the boy into another kiss, this one deeper, stronger, one dealt with bruising force.


	7. It was us way before them

A/N: I'll like to explain some things. My updates with my covenant fanfics have always been relatively fast -- faster than I'd ever updated anything before. But I don't have internet anymore, which is temporary, but it will still take a little bit of time to get it back. And with the loss of the internet is also the loss of timely updates. But that doesn't mean I've stopped writing, because I haven't. I WILL finish all of my covenant fanfics -- but right now I've focused on the three main ones (Eyes bled black, Malleus Maleficum, and Knife called lust). Also with the loss of the internet is the loss of my music. And music is a HUGE part of my writing. So all I've got now is my CDs -- which isn't a lot. It's motivated me to buy some more, but it'd still never be as good as the internet. Because of the loss of my music my writing may plummet. If you do notice the suckiness that is my writing, I'd appreciate it if you tell me, even if that means you're flaming me. I'd gladly revise it, because I don't want my writing to suck just as much as you don't. That's why some chapters take longer than others, because I keep revising it until it satisfies me. I hope you find this chapter up to bar, but if you don't -- tell me. Tell me exactly where I fucked the chapter up (or the story), and I'd take your flames into account.

Sorry it's taken so long.

P.S. -- I'm trying VERY hard to incorporate what I believe is good writing into my own writing. I do want to tell the story -- but I want to be able to write more than just the actions and the dialogue. I want to incorporate my own tone into the writing, and sometimes I don't do that. The tone is what separates fanfiction from true artistry and sometimes my writing lacks that significant tone.

P.P.S. -- I've got two other plot ideas swirling around in my head, so I hope you haven't gotten tired of my Covenant fics just yet. One of those ideas may be more Tyler oriented which...I admit I don't do often. But I still love him. Both of those ideas won't become slash fanfics. As a heads up -- the next chapter is already written, all I have to do is proof it, but it's written in a different style. It's also more so from Caleb's point of view -- and ALL of the covenant is in it.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_Weird is he's my bestfriend. So everybody knows you don't have sex with your bestfriend._

_-- Queer as Folk (how adorable was Michael and Brian for serial? Oh Hal Sparks...) -- most of this chapter was drafted while I was watching this episode of Queer as folk._

The slender fingers danced gently across the expansive skin idly drawing their own invisible designs in the bronze flesh. Such smooth, beautiful skin that Reid hadn't ever noticed before. How many times had he seen that skin before? In the locker room, in the showers, everytime Tyler stripped shamelessly in their dorm room, not more than two feet from Reid. How could he not have noticed such perfect skin before? How could he not have yearned to touch it, reach for it, stroke it. It felt so nice beneath his fingers. It felt perfect, the way his fingers gracefully molded themselves to the skin, like they'd always belonged there. Like this was right.

But it wasn't right. Reid couldn't remember just why it wasn't right, but something deep inside of him kept telling him that he shouldn't like this. It was sick. Unnatural. Not right. He shouldn't be lying here, in this bed, Tyler's bed, naked, beside his best friend, who was also naked. His best friend who had fallen asleep, exhausted, after they'd both partaken in an act of pure, unrestrained lust that they ought to be ashamed of but couldn't quite manage even that.

Tyler had taken this all so casually. Wasn't it Reid who had started this? With that one simple kiss in the locker room, after he knew everybody else had left. Wasn't it he who first saw the boy, naked, like this time had been any different from every other day? And didn't he first approach the boy, reaching out to touch him, his back and his hips and his shoulders? Didn't he shove Tyler against his locker and press his own lips to the boy's without hesitating, without thinking of the consequences? He wanted all of this, didn't he? Tyler had not just merely allowed himself to be fondled like that, but he had responded to it all. He had kissed Reid back, his hands entangled in the blonde hair without the boy prompting them to do so. He had seemed more than eager, more than willing. Unashamed, seemingly fearless.

But now everything was getting so complicated. The way the students kept staring at him didn't make him smirk anymore. It made him shudder and glare. He could see the change in their gaze. It wasn't awe anymore, and that angered him more than he first thought it would. It wasn't that he needed their admiration. He didn't need any of that. It angered him because he, Reid Garwin, hadn't changed. He still spoke the same and walked the same and acted the same. He still let his eyes wander unashamedly when girls passed him. He was still Reid Garwin. But to everybody else he had changed. Because instead of rebel, lady's man, impulsive asshole Reid Garwin, he was instead that faggot, Reid Garwin. With homosexuality came all those stereotypes and he could see all of those obscene words seared into everyone's eyes. The disbelief, the revulsion, the hatred and misunderstanding that he wasn't quite sure he deserved. He had always been so simple to these people -- how dare they, how could they, misunderstand him quite so suddenly? Why must they over complicate everything? It was love, the simplest of all emotions. The one that never needs understanding, that can't be disciplined or controlled; _that just is_. It was love.

And then there was Tyler. Baby boy Tyler that had always been so quiet. He knew his classmates thought Tyler always followed him around. Laughing at his jokes and doing the sorts of things that he wanted to do. But Tyler had the ability to sit there, in class, ignoring the whispers that Reid knew he could hear. He was actually ignoring them, not just pretending to, like Reid was. He hadn't changed. He could still joke, still touch him just as casually as before. Tyler wasn't ashamed. He was unusually at ease with their situation; the fear he'd felt in the beginning seemed to have vanished over night. And Reid's indecision about it all made him ashamed. He was the rebel, why should _he _be ashamed of seeing Tyler in that new, golden light? Why should he be ashamed of anything? He was Reid Garwin. He should know better. He should be better.

The groan reached his ears and Reid blinked. How many times had he heard Tyler groan before? Why did it sound so different now? Tyler shifted beneath Reid's touch, unconsciously arching into it, nustling closer to him. An arm tightened around Reid's pal waist and Reid felt himself smile, as he lifted a second hand to slowly stroke Tyler's arm. The boy felt light, as he curled against Reid's chest. Half his body covered the blonde's, a leg entangled in Reid's, an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. It still felt weird waking up beside another warm body. He had always made it a point to not fall asleep beside his nightly conquests. The only person, even as a child, that Reid had ever fallen asleep beside had always been Tyler. He was special. More than the boy knew.

Caleb could provide the team with stability. It was unfair but each member of the Covenant invested their faith in Caleb. They trusted him to be a rock, to be steady -- unshakeable. Pogue was supposed to be the brotherly support -- to accept you and defend you no matter what. To be mature yet still retain the ability to understand your side of the story. Reid trusted the two of them with his life, even if he failed to ever tell them that. But Tyler was the only boy that made him feel safe. He knew it was an odd feeling to get from the younger boy. This was quiet, always stand in the background and nod my head in agreeance Tyler Simms. But the way he'd touch Reid, even as a kid, it always made him relax. It always put him at ease. He trusted Caleb and Pogue with his life. But he trusted Tyler alone with his heart and mind.

He raked his nails up Tyler's back and the boy shifted under the touch, groaning against his chest. "What time is it?" he groaned, his voice slightly muffled and heavy with sleep.

"Nine." Reid's voice was soft, feather light and smooth as ice. His hand ddanced down the dip of Tyler's back until it reached the hem of his boxers. He played with the hem

"Like in the morning?" Tyler asked, lifting his head to gaze up at the smooth, perfectly imperfect face of Reid Garwin. A lazy smirk was turning up his lips, his pale skin almost seemed brighter. Tyler's head dropped back down onto Reid's chest, his lips pursing slightly to kiss the skin he found there. He opened his mouth against the skin and nipped it gently.

"Yeah," Reid sighed. "As in the a.m." He saw the change in the boy's gaze when Tyler's eyes flicekred up to meet his. Reid already knew the unasked question, and he knew the boy wouldn't pry. "Higgins called half an hour ago," he said softly. "Evidently my mother's somewhere in France. She told him she was in rehab." They both knew that was a lie. Elizabeth Garwin detested rehab just as much as she detested the Power that was lodged somewhere deep within her son.

"She always liked France," Tyler agreed quietly, gently nustling his cheek against Reid's chest. Only Tyler could speak of Reid's mother on such a personal level. Whenever Tyler had conflicts with his father, or seeked escape from his mother, he always crashed at Reid's, and Elizabeth seemed to adopt him as her own. Perhaps more so than her own, because she somehow managed to ignore _his _Power. She was the one that named him baby boy, and Reid was the one who popularized the name by making fun of Tyler when they were younger. He didn't know when the name had changed; when he started saying it with affection instead of spiteful mockery.

"Yeah," he agreed, his voice still distorted with vulnerability. "It would've been nice if she had told me though."

"You scare her," Tyler murmured against Reid's skin before he placed another kiss against it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reid demanded, propping himself up slightly on his elbows.

"The last time I crashed at her house, she had insomnia." Reid nodded slowly but Tyler wasn't looking at him. It had been almost a year since Tyler had lived at Reid's house. He had stayed for four months that time, and only left because Reid decided to move into dorms. Now, looking back at the last fight he'd had with his mother, he realized that he should've thought about Tyler before he'd moved out. But his mother had struck out at him in her anger. Again. And Reid Garwin was not one to be pushed around. He wasn't a fucking victim.

"She'd been drinking so she was a little more taltive than she normally is," Tyler began slowly. Reid shifted beneath him, slowly lowering himself back against his pillows. His mother wasn't exactly one for silence, how much more talkitive could she be? "And she started talking about you. It was the same night that she found your stash," he added quietly. Reid could remember the fight between him and his mother. It was the worst fight between them -- until the night he moved out, of course. Tyler had been caught between them and at the time the blonde hadn't noticed the torn expression that flickered across the younger boy's face. "I didn't want to know the shit she had on you but she needed to explain herself to somebody and she knew you wouldn't ever listen long enough for her to do that. She doesn't know you as well as she thinks a parent should. She can't predict you because she tries to overthink how your mind works. She can't control you like she used to be able to." Tyler chuckled softly against Reid. "You used to be such a momma's boy."

Reid laughed too. Right after his father had left him, he had grown extremely close to his mother. She had been his rock, until he received his Power three years later. "Fuck you," he muttered, lifting a hand to thread it through Tyler's disheveled hair.

Tyler kissed his chest, shifting on top of Reid. "She regrets pushing you away when you got the Power. It was wrong. But it sent your relationship into this downward spiral that she fears she may never be able to climb out of. She told me that she just wanted to move on, leave behind this life and start a new one. She thinks she has a problem and she wants to get help for it. For you, I guess." _And me_. "She isn't in rehab, obviously. She's in a mental asylum."

Tyler waited silently for Reid's reaction. He used to think he could predict Reid. Sometimes he could. He knew how to explain things in order to retrieve the best response from his best friend. But everything had changed. Reid had changed. The moment Reid had obeyed the desires he hadn't ever experienced before and kissed him -- that's when it all changed. That's when Reid changed and became this other person. He could still catch glimpses of the boy he grew up with in passing. But that boy was gone. He had been forced to change, continuously since his father had abandoned him, but his personality had always been static. The sudden change unnerved Tyler, but still he couldn't ignore the part of himself that liked it. He liked how Reid touched him, without asking permission, without hesitancy. He liked how Reid made his intentions and desires known, how he complimented him without meaning to. He liked how he said his name, how he shuddered beneath the younger boy's touch even after all of his experience. And above all else -- he liked the lack of awkward tension within this _almost _relationship. He liked it all.

"Huh." The grunt was low, nearly silent but Tyler felt it deep in Reid's chest. Slender fingers steadily massaged the younger boy's head, and Tyler leaned into the touch. He waited quietly but Reid didn't offer anything more than contemplative silence, a rarity.

"What's Higgins gonna do now that you can't move in with Elizabeth?" Tyler prompted quietly, curling his fingers around a pale hip that jutted out from beneath the blanket. He gently stroked a patch of skin with his thumb, licking a patch of skin beneath his lips.

Reid cleared his throat, hesitating when Tyler pressed another kiss to his chest. The boy shifted again, stretching to place another kiss along Reid's collar bone. "To revoke my suspension. I was gonna flunk if I got another one. So he talked to Robert." Robert was Reid's father. A man who barely resembled the boy yet was unmistakenly his father. Tyler couldn't remember when the boy started referring to his own father by his first name. He refused to speak his name for years after his father left him, after he had begged his father to stay. And then when he finally came to terms with it, after his mother had attempted suicide -- the man wasn't dad, or father. He was merely Robert. Another stranger that Reid tried to simply not refer to at all. Tyler knew the man wasn't that easily forgotten. It couldn't ever be that simple. He knew the boy was still hurting, even after seven years. The boy hadn't even begun to heal. But Reid refused to acknowledge it, like he refused to acknowledge any pain he felt. Pain meant weakness.

"He thinks I need to reform," Reid continued quietly, his voice tight with restrained animosity. "He thinks that movin' out when I was sixteen and livin' on my own didn't help my attitude. I find authority revolting. So he wants me to move in with my father. For the rest of the semester. He thinks that an adult's influence is 'just what the doctor ordered'."

"It's a little late for that," Tyler mumbled, shaking his head against the blonde's chest. "That's three months, Reid."

"I know," Reid mumbled hollowly. "He thinks I need responsibility too." He sighed deeply and Tyler waited patiently for him to continue. "So I'm like a fucking maid. Shit like cleaning up after his perfect children, cooking for him and being the perfect son he never gave me the chance to be. Higgins says it'll help us 'bond'. I don't have a choice though because if he complains then I get suspended and flunk. And...I'd pretty much rather die than spend another year in this shithole."

"So what happens now?" Tyler asked tentatively, curling closer to Reid.

Reid shook his head. "I don't know. You drop me off at my father's and I see how it goes. I don't remember him, Tyler. I don't know what to expect from him. I hate that feeling."

"Anticipation," Tyler sang softly into Reid's chest. The blonde smiled but the slight twitch of his lips died before it reached his eyes. "Here," Tyler said suddenly, shoving himself away from Reid until he was sitting on top of the blonde. The blanket fell away and pooled around Tyler's hips. "I'm hungry, so we're going out for breakfast. I'll buy you a milk shake, Reid. And pancakes. Just like you like them."

A small smile lit up Reid's face but then he shook his head, the smile quickly vanishing. "I'm supposed to be there at eleven," he mumbled darkly.

Tyler shook his head, fixing Reid with a disappointed scowl. "You'll get there when you get there. Don't be such a pussy." Reid scowled at the casual insult but Tyler merely smiled down at him. "Now go get dressed. Real slowly so I can watch." He smiled brightly down at him before slithering off the blonde, taking the blanket with him. Reid shook his head and Tyler nudged his hip with a foot when the blonde didn't move.

Reid shook his head again but he was smiling now, when he rose gracefully to his feet. He glanced back at Tyler, drinking the boy in before extending an hand. "Shower?" He asked softly, a small smirk lighting up his face.

It all seemed so easy after that. The shower that turned into 'fooling around' that quickly led to their breakast at Denny's. They easily fell back into their old routine. Reid managed to forget about his parents and their current situation at school. They weren't exactly a couple, and they didn't act like one. But there was a certain carefree, maybe even challenging, air to the way that Reid touched Tyler. They managed to talk the entire time, taking singular bites in between their jeers at each other and arrogant laughter. By the time Tyler rose to pay for the bill, Reid was as relaxed as he'd ever been, even managing to smile from time to time. The smile faded away when he pulled open the passenger door. The drive to the outskirts of town was dealt in silence. Tyler's hand slipped from the steering wheel, seeking out Reid's leg and he offered a half hearted squeeze. The boy didn't relax beneath the touch, but he covered Tyler's hand with his own, gently stroking the back of the bronze hand.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Side note -- I explained what Caleb, Pogue and Tyler was to the covenant, but what is Reid Garwin? Send me a review and tell me what you think his 'role' in the Covenant really is -- apart from his bad boy rep.


	8. Tainted Love

_A/N: I've had my internet back for a few weeks. And I'm trying to get back into updating everything. I've managed it for the most part, but Malleus Malificarum is gonna take a little bit of time because I'm still working out the kinks, and I'm not sure where I want to go with it. Thanks for reading my stories, and reviewing._

_--_

_I know he's saying pop that pussy but it's like a metaphor for 'I want to hug you'_

_/Oh Dane Cook/_

_Caleb Danvers was attentive. Always attentive. He prided himself on his ability to observe and pick up on things. He prided himself on his superior intellect within the educational system. He carried himself differently, with an air of maturity that had been forced upon him at a young age -- the same air that Reid had refused to acquire, regardless of what he'd been forced to do for his mother. So what if every other student considered him to be the insufferable overachiever? He was still a son Ipswich, and his fellow student still aspired to be like him._

_But that didn't mean that he wasn't always early to class. Because he was. The sooner he could leave his mother's side, the better, even if that forced the wrong impression onto strangers that oddly idolized the sons of Ipswich. Caleb couldn't quite define the shock that tore across his chest when he entered his first hour calculus class to find Reid Garwin already there. He was slouched forward in his seat in the back of the room. Hunched forward, his arms were folded on the desk, his head cradled on his arms, his eyes closed. Even in his hunched figure, Caleb could see his uniform was slightly ruffled. His hair was messier than usual and still wet. Caleb sighed quietly as he moved toward the stairs dividing the stadium seats. The closer he moved toward the blonde, the more he observed him. Even though half his face was hidden, it was obviously twisted into a frown. Caleb had seen Reid sleeping before. The boy had always looked peacefully angelic while asleep. He wasn't sure what had changed but the blonde looked uneasy, painfully trapped in a dream. He strode past Reid and found a seat off to his right, further in the back before quietly pulling out homework he hadn't managed to finish the night before and worked his way through it. He did the homework slowly, trying to occupy the entire time, but he still finished five minutes before the bell rang. Caleb knew he'd been distracted while doing the homework, glancing up at Reid every few minutes. He also knew his answers were correct. _

_Reid looked different. Harmless. Maybe even vulnerable. The mere thought was a whole lot more troublesome than Caleb thought it should be. Glancing up again, he saw Tyler gently shake Reid awake._

_The blonde jerked sharply, fixing Tyler with a wild look. But Tyler didn't even flinch. Caleb was accustomed to viewing the youngest son as soft and he didn't know why. Tyler fought along beside Reid and held his own a great deal of the time. Why was Reid always harder than him? To Caleb, Reid was strong. Reid could contain himself and deal with his own problems. But Tyler had always been some sort of soft kind of rock for Reid. He was a friend, always there, but he was generally kind. Reid was different. He was unusually kind to the younger boy, but Tyler had seen him explode; Tyler had been with him when his anger or his Power had gotten the better of him. And Tyler hadn't even flinched. If that didn't make him hardcore than nothing could. But maybe that was the problem -- maybe nothing could ever make Tyler harder than he already was. Maybe he was just destined to be soft and weak forever, regardless of whether he really was or not. All that matters is the perceptions others have of you. Or the perceptions a certain someone has of you. Caleb didn't have to ask to know that Reid already thought Tyler was strong. He didn't need to question the boy's loyalty, didn't need to be told that Reid respected the youngest son above all else. They had a relationship that could not be cloned, couldn't be repeated or copied. Because it was unique. The prototype, unlike any other Caleb had ever seen. Nobody else needed to see Tyler in such a bright light, because Reid already held that flash light. He saw Tyler in the brightest light, and that's all that would ever matter._

_Caleb watched as the look quickly faded, replaced with a frown. The two boys shared a few words and Caleb stared on as Tyler's hand slipped from Reid's arm to his leg. The older boy settled back on the bench, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the heels of his hands. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Caleb could see Tyler's arm move but his hand never left Reid's leg. There was something odd about the way the blonde looked at the younger boy. Something strange and different; a look Caleb hadn't ever seen from him before. Something that surpass sex and pleasure. He barely noticed the students, just arriving, even though they didn't attempt to quiet their arrogant whispers. Reid and Tyler were the talk of the entire school. The video had released Thursday night and both Tyler and Reid had skipped classes Friday, for the most part. Reid had disappeared over the weekend, because he suddenly lived off campus now. Tyler had the misfortune of being within student vicinity over the weekend. They weren't nice about it, and even though he didn't complain about it, all knew the situation got to him._

_Caleb shook his head, forcing himself to diligently take notes, even though he knew he wouldn't need them. It gave him something to do, and with his mother's alcoholism on the rise, he knew he needed to keep as busy as possible. When he glanced up, he saw Tyler taking notes as well. He was the only boy within the covenant that took school as seriously as Caleb did. His eyes shifted over to Reid and he blinked. Aside from Reid's rapidly increasing glares toward particular students, the pale hand was gracefully flickering across a sheet of paper. He was taking notes, a thing Caleb knew for a fact that Reid didn't do. He didn't understand how Reid did so well on tests. Because he never took notes and slept in most classes. Maybe he really did cheat off of Tyler, even though the younger boy assured him that he didn't. Tyler seemed to mirror Reid's respect for him. It was Tyler who placed infinite faith within Reid's hands, sure that his belief wouldn't be abused. Reid thought he was strong, but Tyler thought Reid cared. _

_They saw the one attribute in each other that they felt was most important within themselves. But the attribute had changed, evolved. It meant something entirely different in each other. Strength didn't mean Tyler could hold his own against Aaron and ignore ridicule from faceless students. It meant he could endure something he wasn't quite sure he deserved in the first place. And while Reid could be blatantly rude to everybody else, including two of his best friends, he couldn't to Tyler. It wasn't an attribute he acquired because he wanted it, or because he practiced and got better at it. It was an attribute he couldn't not have. He had to be kind to Tyler because he hated seeing the boy hurt. And yet it went past that. He couldn't not be nice to him. He couldn't be mean._

_Caleb knew Reid didn't cheat, the 'unofficial' way, on tests because he could now feel each of the boys Use. In the beginning, feeling each member Use was nice, almost exciting. A new up to the Power that none of the other sons had. But feeling the boy Use the previous weekend was enough to drive him insane, because each time Reid's power rippled over him, he felt his own desire intensify. Each time he had to fight that desire and shove it back down. Reid had Used more this previous weekend than he had all month, and Caleb was positive it was due to the effects of living with his father. But that was still no excuse. Not that Reid had ever needed one before._

_Reid elbowed Tyler playfully in the ribs earning him a soft smile from the younger boy. Their lips moved but Caleb couldn't hear the exchange. "Caleb." Caleb's eyes tore away from the pair to peer over at Pogue who was watching him intently with unreadable eyes. He couldn't remember when it suddenly became impossible to read Pogue. It just was. "What?"_

_Caleb blinked. "What?" He repeated, confusion etched into his bronze face. He tended to hide his confusion or insecurities around Tyler and Reid, but with Pogue that task had always been harder. He didn't even try anymore. _

"_What happened?" Pogue pressed, nodding toward Reid. "Felt him Using last night," he added, in a hushed whisper. Caleb glanced back at Reid. Reid was hunched back over again, his chin in his fist, he stared at the professor with half-lidded eyes, his hand flitting across his paper effortlessly. Caleb had almost forgotten that Pogue was supposed to ascend in two months. His Power was rapidly increased. It had affected his personality first. He'd always been the impulsive, abrasive one; somehow worst than Reid, because he cared about a great deal more -- and thus his emotions controlled him. Reid could easily shrug something off, but Pogue didn't have that ability. Or he didn't use to. Recently he had been more patient, more calm and logical. But then he started sensing how other people, primarily the covenant felt. It wasn't empathy, so to speak. He just seemed to wizen up -- and notice how those around him reacted to things. It was he who noticed the relationship between Reid and Tyler, even before the tape. And now when the Covenant Used extraneously, he could feel that too. He didn't feel it as vividly as Caleb did, but Caleb was ascended._

"_I don't know," Caleb answered honestly. "Haven't talked to him yet. He was twenty minutes early to class. Sleeping. He ascends in five months, Pogue. If his stay with his father continues like this for the next semester, he'll be too addicted to stop when he ascends. He'd be too far gone."_

"_You want to talk to him after class?" Pogue asked quietly. He had a calm, almost soothing voice that always made Caleb look over at him. Pogue was becoming an adult and Caleb wasn't sure what to do about that. Even Reid was starting to realize the abrupt change in their friend._

"_I'm not sure," Caleb sighed, sinking back in his seat._

_Pogue nodded. He knew Caleb needed time to think before he ever did anything. Caleb was still silent when the bell rang twenty minutes later. Reid didn't hurry out of the classroom like he always seemed to do. He seemed almost sluggish as he rose unsteadily to his feet, and he nearly fell over when a passing student bumped into him harder than necessary. It was Tyler who quickly steadied Reid and snapped out a 'watch it' at the retreating student._

"_You okay, man?" Pogue asked, as he and Caleb approached the duo._

_Reid yawned. He threw an arm around Tyler's shoulder and pulled the him closer so he could lean on him. Tyler instinctively threaded an arm around Reid's waist and held him close. They looked so casual. They were being excluded from society for an act that should have been acceptable; for something that should have made them happy but was now forever tainted. The classroom was quickly emptying, but students were still throwing glances over their shoulders, to glimpse the two sons of Ipswich, and perhaps the reaction of the opposite sons of Ipswich. "m' fine," he added with a second yawn._

_Caleb cocked an eyebrow, slightly surprised at the familiarity these two boys didn't even attempt to hide. He glanced past the boys, but the room was vacant. "Tired?" He asked, straightening up slightly. Reid nodded. "I bet. That's what happens when you consecutively Use for four hours."_

_Caleb saw the look that Tyler shot Reid. He saw the boys' eyes lock and the flash of guilt that shone brightly in Reid's dull eyes. But then it disappeared and he looked away. The underlying emotion was painfully honest. Tyler had already spoken to the blonde about the ordeal, but all was not forgiven. Just accepted for the time being. Tyler quickly smoothed out that look before turning back to Caleb. "Just let it go for now, Caleb." Tyler's voice was quiet, calm, maybe even tired but solid. And he managed to convey that firm, solid message to Caleb._

_Caleb stared at him for a minute with a look that often made Tyler recoil and spill his guts about whatever he and Reid were currently hiding from the older boy. But this time Tyler didn't even look affected. "Fine," he muttered through gritted teeth. He missed the look that Reid gave Tyler. "When are you going back to your father's?" Caleb knew his voice sounded a bit spiteful, even before Reid frowned, but he couldn't make himself care at the moment._

"_Five," Reid answered. He sounded extremely tired, almost defeated. His ever present smirk was gone, his eyes dull. It just didn't make sense. He'd only been gone for two days -- not even two. One and a half days. It just didn't seem possible._

_Caleb frowned, folding his arms across his chest. "What the hell is he doing to you?" He demanded, taking a step forward. Reid remained silent and that mere action annoyed Caleb further. "He must be doing something to have you…" he gestured angrily at the boy in front of him, "like this."_

"_I don't want to talk about it, Caleb," Reid sighed, his arm around Tyler tightening ever so slightly. "Just mind your own business for once. Please."_

_Reid shifted beside Tyler, fixing Caleb with a tired glare. Tyler ran a hand up Reid's ribs before the blonde turned away to retreat from the room. Caleb took a step to follow Reid's receding form but Tyler stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. "Do you remember when we used to have to walk by his father's house on the way to school?" He asked him suddenly, only after he'd heard the classroom door swing shut. "Do you remember how he spoke of it?"_

"_He said it felt weird," Pogue offered. "Said it felt like the Power but different. Dirty."_

_Tyler nodded, flashing Pogue a soft smile. "He called me this morning, around two. Said inside that house it reeks of Power, even though he knows his father isn't Using. Because his father has abandoned this dead end road of life. He said Using was the only way to stay sane."_

"_Right," Caleb scoffed. Using hadn't ever been an out for him. He had never felt the need to abuse it. He didn't see any profit in such a life. He knew exactly why abuse of such a gift didn't seem appealing. They all did._

"_You didn't hear him this morning," Tyler insisted. "And when I picked him up, after he'd made breakfast for his father's family, you didn't see him. He looked dead. He said it was the first time he'd ever passed out from Using. You should've seen him, Caleb. He was terrible. And it took him an hour to stop shaking." Tyler took a step away from the leader of their group and sighed loudly. Patient little Tyler was finally frustrated with someone other than Reid. And yet his sudden spike of emotion still included the blonde. "He knows he shouldn't have Used that much, that long. Alright? He knows what he did was wrong and now he's feeling the repercussions. Just let him recover a little bit before lecturing him to death, please?"_

"_Fine," Caleb grunted. Tyler looked a little spooked himself, when he talked about Reid like that. The concern was adamant in all of them, but with Tyler it seemed to take a different turn. Perhaps it was because of the growing affections Tyler felt toward Reid; or perhaps it was because Reid insisted on dumping all of his personal problems primarily on him and not the rest of the covenant. "I'll talk to him later, because I'm going to give him a ride to his father's." Tyler's face visibly darkened and he opened his mouth to argue. "I'll be civil, baby boy. Don't worry about it," Caleb assured him softly. "I just want to see what it's really like, in that house. I want to know why it's so unbearable for him. I'll take care of this. As best I can. Alright?"_

_Tyler didn't feel very reassured. "Yeah, fine," he mumbled in resignation. At least Caleb was taking the situation seriously. He would try to fix it, as he always had to fix everything. Tyler slowly turned away and crossed the room begrudgingly. Reid was waiting for him outside of the classroom, propped against the wall. He almost looked peaceful, with his head tilted back against the wood and his eyes closed. "Hey," Tyler mumbled as he shuffled past Reid._

"_I really freaked you out, huh?" Reid asked in a low croak. A shadow had crossed his face and when he opened his eyes, Tyler acknowledged the darker color. Reid was supposed to be some sort of joker, a real prominent class clown, but each member of the covenant had seen the boy serious. He was always serious when he and Caleb fought. He hated the older boy calling him out on his irresponsibility; he hated Caleb questioning his loyalty. He hated it when they doubted him -- a thing Tyler hadn't ever done and Pogue didn't do anymore but Caleb managed to do on every possible occasion. Tyler had seen Reid serious far more than any one else. But it wasn't a pissed off serious edge; instead it was softer. Those rare moments they sat in silence and did their homework, or when Reid had the ability to lie, wide away, yet peaceful and silent for hours. When he'd listen to Tyler read to him, from books he hadn't ever attempted to read himself, from his essays or homework. He liked hearing Tyler speak. When the two shared long, somewhat passionate conversations about their opinions on politics or religion. Tyler just didn't know Reid because they spent so much time together, he knew Reid because he did something the others didn't try to do. He listened to him._

"_What'd you expect?" Tyler asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He felt tired suddenly. He wanted to go to sleep, but he still had six more classes. Six more important classes that he needed to pass. And could you imagine the gossip? If he just didn't go to class after first hour. The assumptions would be enough to make him want to crack open his head on the brick walls encaging the school. "When you call me up at two in the morning, after I'd just spent the entire night feeling the extent of your Using."_

_Reid shrugged. He didn't look uncomfortable. Reid had lost that ability over the weekend. The exhaustion had killed it. "Guess I didn't think of that." He shoved himself away from the wall and slowly began trudging away. "Guess I didn't think about you guys last night, huh? Pretty shitty of me."_

"_Yeah, it was," Tyler agreed, quickening his pace to catch up to his friend. "But it doesn't matter, Reid. No matter what kind of a fuck up you are, I want you to call me. But you have to realize that it's not just me. It's the entire covenant. They care too, you know?"_

_Reid shrugged. It was always Tyler who kept digging until he uncovered Reid's pent up emotions, but the situations still made him uncomfortable. He hated the vulnerability that Tyler insisted on seeing. He hated knowing that somebody else knew just how weak he could be, even if that somebody was Tyler. "Yeah, whatever," he agreed half heartedly. "So Caleb wants to meet the fam?"_

_It was a deliberate change of conversation, but Tyler was used to Reid's antics now. He didn't even blink at the abrupt change. In fact, he almost looked guilty. "He deserved to know. What you're going through."_

_Reid waved away his concern. Caleb didn't have the ability to regret anything, even when he was wrong. Why did Tyler care so much? Why did he apologize every time he fucked up, and sometimes even when he didn't? Hadn't Reid taught him anything? "He doesn't believe you, anyway," he mumbled. He was slowing down, dragging his feet. Tyler didn't seem to notice. Or he pretended not to. "He thinks I'm lying."_

"_But he's giving you a chance at least," Tyler offered. He knew the relationship between Reid and Caleb. It was old, and stale and it wasn't ever going to change. "Do you wanna talk about it?"_

_Reid shrugged, glancing sideways at Tyler. The boy was looking away from him, eyes trained forward. "You really want to know?" He asked. Tyler's gaze flickered to his face before darting away. The bell had already rung and the halls were deserted. Neither boy heard Caleb and Pogue leave the classroom. "He kind of reminds me of Caleb. Except he's a little more controlling. If that's even possible. And he doesn't ask me if I know how to do the shit he expects me to do. He just tells me what he wants me to do. Mom wasn't ever like that…" A silence enveloped the pair. No, Elizabeth hadn't ever been like that. It had been her who had taught him everything; how to cook, clean, do laundry, how to talk to adults in a way that got you everything you wanted yet made them think it was what they wanted too. She had guided him with a calm, soft hand, always asking him questions, always making sure he understood everything._

"_But after living with your mom, you know a little more about playing housewife than most people," Tyler told him softly._

"_Yeah," Reid agreed, his voice morose. He stuffed his fists in his pockets. "And his kids are worst. They're totally taking advantage of this whole situation…watching how he handles them is enough to make me puke. And his wife, Ty. His wife is the worst."_

"_How come?" Tyler prompted, throwing an arm over Reid's shoulder._

"_Because she tries to act like my fucking mother," Reid told him sharply. Well, maybe not quite as specific as his mother…no, she thought she knew how a mother should act. An inadvertent insult that Reid didn't miss. "I've known the bitch for three days and she walks around like she has a right to tell me what to do. Her fucking kids aren't any better. Ordering me around like I'm some fucking servant. Fuck that shit." Reid froze abruptly, jerking Tyler to a stop beside him. Tyler shot him a hard look and then followed his gaze to a figure walking down the hall. It was a girl he'd seen around school but didn't know. He did know she was smart, very smart, but quiet and reserved. A sore thumb in a school that lived on fashion and money. "That's his bitch's daughter," Reid told him in a hushed whisper. "Only one who didn't want shit from me. She actually avoided me like I had a disease or something."_

"_Must've heard about your reputation," Tyler muttered. He grunted quietly when Reid elbowed him sharply in the ribs._

_The girl nodded toward Reid and muttered a 'hello' as she passed._

_Reid grunted a 'hey' in return but it was still a few more minutes before Tyler could coax him into walking again. Reid ran an annoyed hand through his messy hair. "You guys still don't smell that Power, do you?" He asked, glancing over at Tyler._

_Tyler slowly shook his head, frowning apologetically. "I've never smelt the Power," he told him softly. "Ayn used to though," he added suddenly, straightening up beside Reid. "She used to tell me how we smelt the same. Except it was stronger with you. That was our freshman year. She said that your smell was nearly intoxicating. Like a drug that we both did, but you were addicted…at first I assumed it was because she had a crush on you…"_

"_Huh," Reid muttered. "How is that possible? When the covenant can't even smell it? She's just a girl. Just a normal girl, right? She's not like…magical or something…we would notice that, right?"_

_Tyler shrugged. "Ayn's very observant. She notices a lot of shit nobody else does. She sees everything."_

"_Well…not everything," Reid added._

_Tyler shook his head, sighing loudly. "I don't know, man. I think she suspects something. I've known her since freshman year, Reid. And some of the things she notices….some stuff she says -- it feels like sometimes she knows exactly what we're up to. But she's adamant about conspiracies, she suspects something about everything. She watches people. It's like a fucking hobby or habit or something. She studies their mannerisms. Their attitudes and personalities. Their entire existence. I don't know why she even bothers, because nothing irritates her more than people…"_

_Reid was silent for a moment. He hadn't spoken to Ayn since Friday; not since she had called him. How had she gotten his number? Was she really above spying? Was she really trustworthy? This wasn't another Sarah -- he, or Tyler, couldn't just spill their guts to her and hope she'll understand, even though she's proven pretty open minded thus far. "She's an understanding person," Tyler offered quietly. "She can handle weird. If you ask her to sniff around your father's house, she won't object."_

_That's what Reid had been waiting for and Tyler knew it. It'd been so long since Reid had been obsessed with the weird aura surrounding his father's house, but now there was some sort of spark of hope in the darkness. He __needed _somebody to side with him. Even if that somebody detested him, it didn't matter. If she had the possibility to believe him, he would seize the possibility.

"I'll talk to her."


	9. Anyone but you

A/N: I've gone over this chapter countless times and I'm still not happy with it. I know it seems painfully random after the last chapter. I'm sorry. And I know Tyler isn't in this chapter and Ayn is. I understand a great deal of people hate her - but I need a Reid chapter because he's all I seem capable of writing right now. I'm sorry for the stupidly long delay and I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. But no matter how you feel about it - could you please review?

---

_He is the cheese to my macaroni_

The room was dark and Reid fumbled for the light switch. Tyler had cleaned since the last time Reid had been in their dorm, and without the blonde living there the room had remained clean. Cleaner than clean, on the verge of perfection, actually. It used to amuse Reid how often, how consistently the youngest son cleaned. He cleaned when he was upset, angry, depressed, bored, stressed out, irritated or happy. And then he cleaned whenever something was messed up. Reid used to deliberately mess up the room just to get a rise out of Tyler and watch the younger boy busy himself with quickly tidying up the room while muttering insults and threats to himself. But the room hadn't been messy when Reid had left. A few articles of clothing maybe, some books that Reid hadn't ever planned on reading. Reid had matured a little; he'd stopped antagonizing Tyler - for the most part. Sometimes he even picked up his own clothes. Sometimes he even did his own laundry. But that meant that something was wrong; it meant Tyler had wanted to keep his mind busy. He wanted to ignore something. To just not think about it. And he hadn't told Reid about it, which meant it was worst than the usual bad.

Reid shook his head and turned away from the spotless room. There was a form curled up in Tyler's bed. It was petite, furled into a small ball beneath the heavy blanket wound tightly around the unfamiliar body. He knew it wasn't Tyler. A small hand peaked out of the comforter; it was curled into a fist, and clutched the blanket tighter to her body. He dimly acknowledged the probability that this person was Ayn. Did Tyler really know that many more females - like that - enough to let them crash in his room - in his bed, while he was out?

ICP crashed upon the silence and Reid frowned when he realized he hadn't even noticed the music at first. It was his CD.

He passed the bed and approached his own, without bothering to turn off the music or the light. He just needed a few hours of sleep and then he could return to his father. But inside that house, sleep would have been impossible. Not with that tainted Power clouding the air, making it hard to breathe. Hard to concentrate. Hard to resist. He gingerly crawled beneath his own blanket and pulled it tight around himself. It was October. It was supposed to be cold. But why did he feel unusually cold all the time? It was worst in his father's house, but something told him the heating wasn't malfunctioning.

Even in his dreams, the touch of the power was present. But it was twisted, stronger and far more devastating. It stung and pulled at him, leaving him gasping and paralyzed. In the distance, he could feel the overbearing figure there; a figure he couldn't quite place but one he knew was there all along. The name, the memory, it was all right there - on the tip of his tongue and yet he couldn't manage to spit it out. Perhaps he didn't even want to know what, who, this figure was. It was shrouded in shadow and even as it drew closer he still couldn't make out its face. He could feel it, and the Power that was its essence increasing. Increasing until he was kneeling on the ground, trembling and gasping for air that seemed reluctant to comply.

He could feel the sweat that layered his face, singular drops accumulating to ripple down the side of his face, but he was immobilized to life a hand to wipe them away. His t-shirt was heavy and stuck to his back, almost suffocating. The figure loomed over him, reaching out to him. And then blackened hands gripped him by the neck and lifted him from the ground. And right there, suspended in the air, choking desperately for more air, a feeling overwhelmed him, a feeling he knew too well. The Power, but different. Broken. Twisted. Torn. Writhing in its own pent up existence and striking out - each hit dealt with increasing strength. Reid's nails scratched at the blackened hands and his vision dimmed. But even in the dimmed light, he saw it. He saw the face of the Power and it was --

Reid jerked awake with a loud gasp. Sweat layered his face and his fists clutched at the heavy blanket smothering him, knuckles white. His chest heaved with heavy pants and he blinked into the darkness, unable to shake the feeling of his dream. He still hurt. Fingering his neck, he realized that it was still sore. ICP was still playing, loud in the room. As he fumbled for the remnants of the dream, a thought occurred to him_. I didn't turn off the light._

He swallowed hard and quickly shoved away the blanket. He stumbled to his feet and forced himself back toward the door, quickly swiping the light on. The room looked unchanged. Ayn was still in Tyler's bed, till burrowed within his blanket. The rise and fall of her form was too mild, too calm to be forced. Her breathing was subdued and nearly silent, but she was asleep. His eyes darted from Ayn's form to the clock on the table beside Tyler's bed. _3:41 a.m. _Eleven minutes. Reid had slept for eleven minutes but he knew something was wrong. Somebody had been in his room, but he couldn't guess who.

The room didn't smell of Power, so he knew it wasn't whoever had been in his dream. Frustrated, Reid turned away from the clock. Abandoned, a newspaper peaked out from beneath his bed. Reid frowned. He hurriedly snatched the paper up and surveyed the front page.

It was the school's paper. Controversial and full of lies most of the time. On the front page was an enlarged picture of him and Tyler. He was leaning slightly on Tyler, his arm thrown around the boy's shoulders. Their backs were turned toward the camera but enough of them showed that it was unmistakably them. It was yesterday, during calculus. The side of Caleb's face was visible but Reid doubted other students would be able to identify the oldest son.

Clutching the paper tightly in one hand, he strode purposefully over to Tyler's bed and shook Ayn awake, only dimly aware that maybe he was being a little rough with her. Ayn jerked awake as soon as he touched her back and her head lifted swiftly from the bed. He pulled his hand away when he saw the look on her face. She looked scared, but the look quickly melted away into a more neutral gaze. "Get up," Reid told her in a gruff tone.

When Ayn pulled herself, silently, from Tyler's bed, Reid had already crossed the room and torn open the door. She quickened her pace when she saw the impatient frown plastered across his face. The door slammed shut behind them, but Reid had already grabbed her arm and began pulling her quickly away from the room. "What the hell, Garwin?" She managed, her voice thick and drowsy.

"You didn't turn off the light in the last ten minutes, right?" Reid ask as he shoved open the double doors at the end of the hall. He forced Ayn to keep up pace with him as he bounded down the stairs two at a time. "You didn't wake up, right?"

"No, not since last night," Ayn answered uncertainly. "Why? What's going on, Reid?"

Reid pulled her through another set of doors and Ayn managed to yank her arm out of his death grip. It was bound to bruise. "I found this in the room," Reid told her, handing her the newspaper. She glanced down at it and then back at him, confused. "Why the fuck didn't anybody tell me that we're in the school paper?"

"Because you're not," Ayn told him, raising her voice to counter his. "This is the sample paper. It's different paper - the feel, the smell, the look. It's a good copy; somebody obviously put a lot of trouble into it, but it's a fake."

"It's a fake," Reid repeated, as though he were attempting to grasp the concept. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Mr. K. - you know, the teacher that prints our paper - he would never print something like this. About you. Did you even read this, Reid?" Ayn demanded, her eyes working strenuously to scan the page in full. "It's a petition. Against gays. The headline is 'God hates fags', Reid."

"That's not very nice," Reid commented, shoving open the front door. His anger leaked through his action and forced the door open harder than necessary. It banged against the outside wall and swung closed.

"Written by Brody," Ayn read aloud, as she followed Reid out of the building. The wind bit at her, and she suddenly realized that she was still wearing the sweats and tank top she'd fallen asleep in. Shivering, she tried to ignore that fact as she followed Reid across the courtyard. "Edited by Kira. Hm, did you know that Kira means killer in Japanese? Coincidence? I think not…." Reid scoffed at her drastic change of subject. "Published by God's people. How'd he even get into your room?"

"Aaron stole my key," Reid mumbled. "Like two weeks ago. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Ayn frowned and gazed ahead at where exactly Reid was heading. The boy seemed aimless. Where was he going to go? Tyler had left earlier last night, claiming he had family business to attend to. He didn't have a car and even if he did, where was he going to go? "I don't know," she admitted. "Why go through all the trouble just to give you a petition? That'd be a waste of time."

Reid frowned and glanced down at Ayn, who had surprisingly remained in stride with him. He knew that his pace was fast, even for a swimmer. But Ayn wasn't a swimmer, and as far as he knew she wasn't athletic. "What would you do? If you were to print out a fake petition and plant it in someone's dorm…what would you do? Why would you do that?"

Ayn opened her mouth and then stopped herself. Reid Garwin had just asked her a question, peer to peer, equal to equal. He was asking for her help and he didn't look ashamed or upset about that. "I wouldn't just stop at you. No, in fact, given your reputation, I'd give you the petition last. I'd give everybody else it first, sneak into their rooms and leave it somewhere they're bound to notice it." She paused, thoughtful at first. "I'd only give it to boys and specific girls, maybe specific religions. Because guys are far more homophobic, and religion blinds people. That's what I'd do," she decided, her gaze breaking away from the patch of space she'd been staring contemplatively at to look back at Reid.

A silence separated the two, in which Reid swore productively. "I wouldn't stop at this either. I'd fuel the act, or whatever it is Aaron's working on - I'd fuel it with more ploys . But Aaron isn't exactly at the top of our class….it seems like an awful lot of effort, just to humiliate someone."

"But I don't stay in our dorm," Reid countered quietly. He'd finally stopped, but the grass he chose to stop on was wet and Ayn hadn't though to put shoes on first. She could feel the soggy earth press weakly against the soles of her feet. "And the paper was almost under my bed. What if Tyler --"

"Maybe it was an accident," Ayn interrupted. "You slept for ten minutes, right?" Reid nodded mutely. "What if you woke up quicker than you were supposed to? What if he waited too long for you to fall asleep, and when you woke up he dropped the petition and didn't have time to plant it where he had wanted to? What if you were never supposed to find it, Tyler was?"

That's right, Ayn was a conspiracy freak. But if that made her a freak, then why did it all sound so logical? "Why would he plant one for Tyler and not me?" Reid asked, folding his arms across his chest. None of the answers mattered anymore, he was still going to kick Aaron's ass - what he should have done as soon as the video had been released.

"You don't live in dorms anymore," Ayn answered with a shrug. "You haven't been home yet. Maybe he left both of you the petition?" Reid opened his mouth but Ayn continued. "I don't understand why he'd even give the two of you the petition. That's blatant taunting yeah - but wouldn't it hit you harder if you were to go back to school tomorrow and have the entire class laughing at you….and not know why?"

Reid shrugged, rubbing his arms for warmth he hadn't felt ever since he moved in with his dad. "He's pretty dumb. I'm surprise he even knows how to taunt…"

Ayn nodded contemplatively. That was the perfect word for her. Always contemplative, no matter what she was doing. "I want you to do me a favor," Reid said suddenly. Ayn arched an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent. Her hair was messier than usual and her cheeks were tinged red, but other than that she looked the exact same as she had the last time he'd spoken to her. She no longer looked tired, but instead she appeared completely alert, her uneven breath coming out in short, visible gasps. "I want you to go to my father's house with me."

Ayn waited but Reid didn't continue. "Any particular reason or…"

Reid gave her a sarcastic smile. "Tyler said you used to sniff around us," Reid clarified. Emotion sprinted across Ayn's face in a half concealed grimace. "I want to see if you can identify that same smell at my father's house."

"Why?" Ayn inquired, tilting her head to the left.

Reid licked his lips before continuing. "Look, could you just do this for me without asking questions? Could you just ignore all of the circumstances and just…just do what I ask? Please?"

"Fine," Ayn mumbled, but her lips had already twisted ever so slightly into what could be considered a smile but generally wasn't. "What are you gonna do about the petition?"

"I don't know."

"What are you gonna do to Aaron."

"Haven't decided."

"Fighting would be stupid."

"Only if it's on school grounds," Reid countered. "If I catch him at Nicky's --"

"Everybody will jump the faggot," Ayn interrupted. Reid winced at the word and she frowned. "Do you not know what happens when people hate those different from them?" Ayn's eyebrow arched higher, disappearing briefly beneath her protruding bangs. Could it be that Reid Garwin hadn't ever really been different before? "They pick at them. And pick at them and pick at them until the edges of their pitchforks have chipped away all that remains of them. Until they're no longer different but nonexistent. I advise you don't let that happen to you."

"It won't," Reid assured her, turning away to go back inside. He wasn't sure he liked the sudden turn this conversation was taking, how deathly serious Ayn looked. "I'm Reid --"

"I know," Ayn interrupted. She hadn't ever interrupted him before today, but it was beginning to annoy him. He suddenly appreciated the way she used to let everyone speak their piece before opening her mouth. "No matter what they do to you, and Tyler, you can't let them change you, Reid. Remain static to spite them."

"But you hate you hate how I am…?" A smile was twisting Reid's lips and Ayn had to look away because she hated the smug aspect to it.

"That doesn't matter," she mumbled. "Tyler likes you. So don't let them change you. No matter what Aaron's trying to pull - with the stupid video and the stupid petition. If you change, Reid, Tyler will change. And I like him how he is."

"I like how he is too," Reid agreed, but his smirk was still in place.


	10. Darkness, there is nothing more

A/N: So I killed my computer a little bit ago. It's been at least a month. But this computer was loaded up with all my writing - every single fanfic I'd written, and all those still in the work. Every draft I had for every chapter. Every original work I'd done. And I hadn't been backing up my writing - which I used to do. So I lost everything. I haven't written in a while, but I got a review. I swear, reviews are the greatest motivation I've come across. I've been working on a chapter for Just a flesh wound, but this review inspired me to write another chapter for this fic. Because this person got the story and the characters as I saw them. So, I dedicate this chapter to HauntedPast and I hope you guys like it. Please review.

Notes: I did reference Frankenstein a lot and…I don't know why. I wrote the beginning of the chapter outside - when I was watching the sunset, so I might have gone overboard (listening to Korn, Disturbed and Drowning Pool….) I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Yes. There is Ayn. I know a lot of people hate Ocs. I promise, I swear - she will not take your man :P She is an OC. She will serve absolutely no sexual and/or romantic point. This is a Reid/Tyler fic. But, I like her. So… this is a chapter with Ayn. This is also the second chapter without Tyler - speaking. Sorry. And now I'm tired, and I have to get up in ten hours to go to a birthday part. So -- please enjoy :D

And - I did not fuck up Ayn's name on purpose because I want to be 'kool'. She's not that type of OC. She was inspired because of an author/philosopher - named Ayn Rand. The name is Russian - it isn't spelt different just to be different. It had a purpose.

------

Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me?

-- Frankenstein's Monster.

Reid stared into the dying light. The sky had been painted a pink so dark it looked red. As the light faded, it left a mixture of blue and purple in its wake. The loss of the sun had bruised the sky so severely the only color that would remain was a grey so hollow, it could be black but wasn't. The dark had advanced quickly, and as Reid watched its approach, he had missed it.

In that darkness, Ayn sat beside him. "What're you staring at?" Her generally neutral tone was soft - it didn't break the silence of the night. Although taken by surprise, Reid didn't jump.

"It's gone now," he said. He looked out at the horizon, but the light had moved on. Ayn looked too.

"The sun dies every night," Ayn said, staring off into the blackened sky. She looked, but she saw nothing and looked merely for looking's sake. "To be reborn every morning, changed but unnoticed."

Reid nodded. No one he knew used emotion with words alone. Ayn's voice did not betray her, her passion lived in her words - shared only with her passionless voice. She hid so much in plain sight. He wondered why. Such an easy hiding place missed by mass majority of their student body. What did she fear? Emotion? He couldn't understand why she hid so fervently. Why she feared expressing emotion so much. Everyone did it, after all. "It's pretty," he said.

"I believe death can be as pretty as life," Ayn murmured. But Reid Garwin wasn't supposed to find a sunset pretty. That fact alone destroyed the Reid she'd created. In the destruction of the monster she'd made, she saw man.

"Because you don't care about life," Reid said. His voice was quiet, soft. Serious. Man surprised her, and she longed for her lost monster. She knew her monster and nothing could surprise her in her familiarity.

"Or because I care about life enough to enjoy the inevitable conclusion, rather than mourn it." Man listened and didn't scoff. He mourned the conclusion, even when he knew the lost light would inevitably be reborn.

The silence fell hard, and heavy but it went unnoticed. They stared into nothing and drew something from it, unaware of the pressing silence, threatening to crush them. "Have you changed?" Ayn's voice was quiet, but it broke the silence this time. It shattered the silence, and forced it away.

"I don't know," Reid admitted. What he did now remained natural to him. But even nature changed. Unnoticed.

"I thought you were a monster," Ayn admitted, though she hated how childish it sounded. She'd grown accustomed to her own majority. She liked how sophisticated her thoughts already were. She'd given into such easy prejudice and she hadn't even noticed it.

"I wasn't," Reid assured her. "I saw a film in sophomore lit," he announced, changing the topic so drastically Ayn didn't notice, or perhaps in the isolated darkness, she didn't find the need to care. "A man created a monster - he thought he wanted this monster. But once the monster began moving, the man left. He ran off and left the monster alone. While he wasn't looking, the monster became human. Still thinking his creation was a monster, he didn't see the humanity in the monster - or the monster within himself."

Ayn had read the book. Frankenstein. How very much alike Reid interpreted the book as she. "If only he'd looked long enough," Reid concluded. "He would've seen man, instead of beast. I've changed, Ayn. But I wasn't a monster."

Ayn looked away from the darkness to see Reid. He didn't return her look. The cocky smirk that had been fading in the past few weeks had disappeared completely. She wasn't sure if it was just for tonight, just for this particularly somber mood, or forever. His hair, blonde and visible in the blackened night was damp and she hadn't noticed it before. His face was pale, completely slack in his seriousness. He wore his street clothes. His jacket pulled tight, and his gloves covering his hands, besides the parts that mattered. His long, skinny fingers curled into fists in his pockets. Ayn didn't know if it was the night or not - but Reid looked so incredibly small, so suddenly. Like a boy, lost and scared. It took her by surprise. "What do you expect me to find at your father's house?"

"A monster."

Ayn watched Reid watching the consuming darkness. "How do you know?" The question was abrupt enough to tear Reid's eyes from the sky to meet hers. There was a weight to his gaze that made her squirm. She didn't like it. She knew she didn't like it because it went against the monster she'd created in his image.

"I know."

"So did Victor," Ayn murmured. "Morality is subjective, Reid. Subjective means bias. Based strictly on someone's opinion. It means: not really all that important in the grand scheme of things except our morals make us what we are. Do you really know your father? Or do you judge him based purely on outdated assumptions? You're not ten anymore, Reid. He isn't some broken idol that offered you protection but failed to provide it. He's a man. A man behind that monster in your head…"

Reid scowled. He didn't like her indication. "What makes a man a monster?" He asked. He knew she'd have her own answer. A answer that seemed intelligent only because of the words she dressed it up with.

"A monster lacks a redeeming factor," Ayn answered promptly, as if she'd thought the question thoroughly through already. "'Hitler, stalin, Charles manson. The Joker. The unsavable, the sociopath, those that cannot - even if they wished to - be saved."

"Or," Reid said, only once Ayn had finished talking. "Or. Your morals don't mean a damn if they don't influence what you do, right? You can be all self-righteous and high and mighty, but if you stand by and let something bad happen to someone else…He doesn't kill people, Ayn. He doesn't cut people up and stuff them in his freezer. He doesn't execute people, or rape them, or torture anybody. He seems normal. Some monsters do."

"The worst monster is found in man," Ayn murmured. Victor had feared his monster because he saw himself somewhere in there. He feared the evil of his monster, because he feared the evil of himself. He just hadn't known it.

Reid sucked in a deep breath between his teeth and let it out. "What will I find at your father's house?" Ayn repeated. Reid had broken her gaze and looked out into that vast nothing.

"Darkness."

"Darkness?" Ayn repeated. "I don't understand. Darkness is merely the absence light, or color. It is entirely human inflicted. It is not a state, not something I can find."

"No," Reid agreed. "That is exactly it is. 'A lack of light'. That's exactly what his house is. Dark, cold, empty and hollow, even though his kids are always there. It's hollow."

"I will find _nothing_," Ayn said.

Reid woke with a jolt, though he hadn't been having a nightmare. His body jerked with sudden consciousness. It was the third night he'd fallen asleep in the dorms. Ayn still slept in the opposite bed. In the dark room, he played the dream over in his head. He could feel the pressure of Tyler pressing against him. Tyler's body was warm, and Reid snuggled, for surely there was no other word to describe his movement, closer. Tyler was lying partially on top of him, a leg between Reid's, and a hand curled around his waist. Tyler's face was buried in the crook of Reid's neck, and his breath was hot against Reid's skin.

Reid wanted to wake Tyler up and tell him about his stupid dream. It hadn't been a nightmare, but it unnerved him. He didn't wake Tyler. Instead, he wound his arms around Tyler's waist and held him closer. Tyler was alright. Nothing else mattered.


	11. Mad World

A/N: I've discovered what I'm going to do with this story. So tomorrow I'll outline it, and start writing future chapters. This chapter's setting up for it.

And! Chase will not be the big boss, folks. Chase is dead.

PS - I'd like to know what ya'll think of my oc now that we've got a few chapters under her.

---

"It's like an air freshener."

Ayn sat on the kitchen island and watched Reid do the dishes. What a sight that was. She didn't just watch him, she studied him, as she studied everything else. She watched his fluid movement, the familiarity in which he raked the sponge across the plates. His sleeves were rolled up and his arms were pale, his wrists and fingers bony - bare.

Ayn inhaled deeply. She'd nearly forgotten about this smell. She wouldn't really; she knew she'd probably remember it until the day she died. The smell was _that _peculiar. It'd died down around the boys within the last few years, as if they were suddenly men - much too masculine for frivolous perfume.

"This one's different though." Reid made a grunting noise, just to assure Ayn that he was indeed listening to her, even though he didn't actually look or act like he was listening to her. It was an art perfected by men. Ayn had no doubt that Reid was listening intently. He'd invited her over at this specific time. His father wasn't home, and wasn't that the whole point? Only because of her scrutiny did she notice that tense tick in his shoulders. "It's not just stronger, it's overkill." As if the one spraying the perfume had lost all sense of smell, and kept on spraying in hope of regaining their smell.

Reid moved from washing the dishes to rinsing the ones stacked in the sink. He dried each individual dish. "Odd," Ayn remarked. "You'd think a man without a maid would at least install a dishwasher…Even the poor have dishwashers…"

Reid threw a look over his shoulder. Ayn recognized that look. In a world of useless talking, you'd think the masses would be more accustomed to useless observations. Apparently they weren't. Ayn shrugged, though Reid was no longer looker. "I'd rather individually wash each dish too, Reid. How else will you know it's clean, right? Nobody ever looks at their plate as they pile their food onto it. Who knows what can be on your plate, what can be going into your mouth…? Such an abrupt and obvious danger that people _choose _not to be cautious of." Ayn sighed, and hopped off the island.

"I never noticed how much you talk when no one's talking to you," Reid said over his shoulder. He turned off the water and abruptly threw the room into silence. "Describe the smell to me."

Ayn watched him towel-dry his hands, and then reach for his gloves. How useless were gloves that didn't protect the most vital part of your hands? Your fingerprints. "I've never described a smell before," Ayn acknowledged with a smile. The smile made Reid roll his eyes. "You said your dad moved out when you were ten, right?"

Reid frowned at the abrupt and annoyingly personal question. "So?" He prompted.

"So I started noticing this smell when we were in junior high. I assumed it was some kind of cologne. I ignored how odd it was that four boys - all friends - all wore the same cologne, but nobody else did. I figured it was a trend - not much of a trend if only four people did it… I ignored how unlikely it was that you wore the same cologne for nearly five years. All of you. But now your father magically has this house that smells exactly like that 'cologne.' Every single room. Except for yours. How can every single room smell so strongly, except for some random guest room that you happen to occupy? The smell is absent from that room, as if another smell is overpowering it. Why's the smell so important all of a sudden?"

Reid's frown only grew. Ayn was a conspiracy freak. She was intelligent and she noticed a lot of things Reid hadn't. It was to be expected. Ayn noticed everything. But his room felt the exact same as the house. He still felt claustrophobic there. So if the smell was missing? What the hell did that mean anyway? Ayn was just assuming - just writing a better story out of the assumptions she already had. None of it had to be true…

"I said no questions."

Ayn audibly groaned. He'd never seen her so displeased. He'd never seen her express any emotion really. She was an unusually neutral person. "You asked me for answers, Reid. How am I supposed to answer anything if I can't ask anything?"

"Could you please just describe the fucking smell to me, Ayn," Reid groaned in return. "Please?"

"I don't know," Ayn said. The statement seemed weird coming from her - and so willingly, so thoughtlessly. "It's overpowering, like an essence, not really a smell. It's strong, as if you broke an entire bottle and let the liquid seep into the clothing. It reeks masculinity, power, force, strength. Funny that it skipped your room," she added. "The absence of smell in your room creates its own smell. Just like nothing creates the absence of nothing."

"Oh yeah?" Reid hadn't noticed a smell in his room. It'd been kept relatively clean, relatively empty because he didn't want to get used to it. "And what's that smell like, Ayn?"

"Inevitable sacrifice. Lambs to the slaughter. Death. Not quite the opposite, but different. This smell out here, in this kitchen, doesn't smell dark, but it feels dark. A feeling that creeps along your skin. This entire house feels creepy. If this were a horror movie - your room would be where the first victim dies, Reid. Because it feels safe. And it doesn't smell quite as toxic. Bet you don't hear that everyday, huh? Reid Garwin safe, _and _toxic free…"

Reid was still frowning at Ayn when he answered his phone. The ring tone made Ayn smile. It was 'Coin-Operated Boy' by the Dresden Dolls. "Baby boy." He sounded cheerful, but Reid was still frowning. "What do you mean he's in the hospital?" Ayn watched Reid closely, even though she could only hear one side of the conversation. Reid didn't have to give her the look she knew he wanted to. Ayn showed herself out.

"Relax, Tyler," Reid cooed. He wouldn't tell Ayn, but he appreciated that she'd left without him telling her to. She was the most curious person he'd ever met. Evidently curiosity didn't make people noisy; not all the time. Now alone, he could act how he knew Tyler needed him to. He could hear the anxiety and tears in his voice. "Tyler, baby boy, Tyler, calm down. You're talking too fast, I can't understand you."

"He's in the hospital," Reid echoed. His voice was calm only because Tyler sounded hysterical. "You found him. I'm with Ayn right now - she was giving my father's house a sniff, but it's alright. I'll be there. No, shhh, Tyler. Take a deep breath, I'll be there, as soon as I can. I love you too."

Ayn was waiting outside. She was seated on the ground, the book she'd brought was out and open in her lap. She always brought a book, that's what she'd told him. Boredom didn't do well with her. "Let's go," Reid said, but he was already locking the door behind him, and Ayn was already rising to her feet.

"Is Tyler alright?" She asked, as she stuffed her book back into her school bag. Ayn didn't carry a purse. She was obviously female, yet she ignored all the female necessities. Reid didn't like it - it made him question what he thought he knew about females.

"Tyler's fine," Reid told her.

"Then who's in the hospital?" Ayn asked. Reid glanced at her but Ayn ignored the look. "It's either Pogue or Caleb - which is it?" Who else could draw such a reaction from Tyler? He didn't seem to be close to anyone outside of that group of four.

"It's Caleb."


End file.
